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CARNIVOROUS 
PLANT 

NEWSLETTER 


VOLUME  VI,  NO.  1 
March  1977 


CO-EDITORS: 

D.E.  Schnell 
Rt.  4,  Box  275B 
Statesville,  NC  28677 


PUBLISHER: 


J.A.  Mazrimas 
329  Helen  Way 
Livermore,  CA  94550 


T.L.  Mel li champ 
Dept,  of  Biology 
UNCC 

Charlotte,  NC  28223 


Leo  Song 

Arboretum 

Dept,  of  Biology 

California  State  Univ. 

Fullerton,  CA  92634 


The  Arboretum,  Dept,  of  Biology,  California  State  Univ.,  Fullerton,  CA  92634. 
Published  quarterly  with  one  volume  annually.  Circulation:  562  (265  new, 

297  renewal). 


DROSERA  PETIOLARIS 

Photo  by  J.  Mazrimas 


2 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


EDITOR'S  CORNER 

First,  let  me  welcome  all  you  new  subscribers  and  a  hearty  welcome  back  to  the 
old-timers.  Many  things  have  happened  during  the  past  year.  We  have  added  two  new 
co-editors,  and  The  Arboretum  at  California  State  University,  Fullerton,  has  assumed 
the  task  of  publishing  and  distributing  CPN.  All  subscriptions,  as  well  as  any 
claims  for  missing  or  defective  issues,  should  be  addressed  to  The  Arboretum.  The 
Arboretum  is  also  handling  all  business  related  to  the  sale  of  the  back  volumes. 

Pat  Hansen,  a  long  time  friend  of  the  Arboretum,  is  doing  all  of  the  typing  and  lay¬ 
out  and  bookkeeping.  Please  address  your  inquiries/orders  to  The  Arboretum;  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Bioloaical  Science;  California  State  University,  Fullerton;  Fullerton  CA 
92634;  USA.  All  checks  and  money  orders  should  be  made  payable  to  "Arboretum 
Foundation  Fund."  Until  further  notice,  all  subscriptions  will  be  on  an  annual 
basis  only. 

We  would  also  like  to  announce  the  beginning  of  a  membership  drive.  Last  year 
the  number  of  subscribers  reached  650  by  mid-July  when  the  available  spaces  ran  out. 
This  year  we  plan  to  take  all  comers.  As  the  number  of  subscribers  grows,  the  price 
for  each  copy  of  CPN  drops.  Rapid  growth  will  also  help  to  keep  the  subscription 
price  stable  while  allowing  for  more  extras  such  as  more  illustrations,  some  of  which 
we  would  like  to  publish  in  color  once  we  have  a  sufficient  number — about  3000.  So 
every  member  get  at  least  one  new  member  or  more  for  Volume  VI. 

The  record  cold  in  some  parts  of  the  world,  especially  in  the  Eastern  United 
States  and  the  resulting  energy  shortage  may  have  affected  some  of  our  readers.  We 
would  be  pleased  to  hear  of  how  they  are  dealing  with  gas/oil  shortages  as  well  as 
other  weather-related  problems  (drought,  freezes,  etc.).  Any  information  on  the 
effect  of  these  weather  extremes  on  the  natural  populations  of  CP  would  also  be 
greatly  appreciated  and  will  be  published  as  soon  as  possible. 

BEGINNER ' $  CORNER  by  L.  C.  Song  I 

This  marks  the  beginning  of  a  new  column  in  response  to  many  inquiries  received 
by  your  editors  about  the  culture,  propagation,  hybridization,  etc.,  of  CP.  Each  of 
the  co-editors  will  take  turns  writing  about  various  aspects  of  CP;  at  first,  the 
column  will  contain  general  information.  This  is  to  establish  a  foundation  on  which 
to  build  for  later  columns  which  will  contain  more  specialized  information  limited 
to  specific  genera  and  possibly  specific  species. 

Much  has  been  written  on  the  culture  of  CP  in  the  last  few  years,  and  many  excel¬ 
lent  reference  works  are  available  that  cover  general  cultural  practices  for  all 
groups  of  CP.  One  of  the  best  sources  of  cultural  information  is  contained  in  a  book 
by  Don  Schnell,  Carnivorous  Plants  of  the  U.S.  and  Canada.  Another  source  is  Alan 
Swensen's  book.  Cultivating  Carnivorous  Plants.  (See  Review  of  Recent  Literature 
section) .  My  advice  to  serious  beginners  is  to  review  the  chapters  on  the  cultiva¬ 
tion  of  CP.  This  should  answer  the  majority  of  questions  concerning  basic  cultural 
practices . 

These  basic  practices  can  be  summed  up  as  the  light,  temperature,  water  rela¬ 
tions,  edaphic  (soil  or  growing  medium),  and  nutrient  factors.  Other  things  to  be 
considered  are  basic  horticultural  techniques  such  as  propagation,  potting  practices, 
pest  control,  structures  for  housing  of  plants,  etc. 

Now  for  a  brief  definition  of  terms.  The  light  factor  takes  into  consideration 
the  intensity  of  quantity  (brightness),  quality  (spectral  composition),  and  photo¬ 
period  (the  duration  of  light  during  a  diurnal  or  daily  period  as  well  as  a  seasonal 
time  period) .  The  temperature  factor  would  be  the  diurnal  (day-night)  and  seasonal 
range  in  temperature.  Water  relations  as  used  here  would  concern  the  maintenance  of 
proper  moisture  levels  within  the  plant  through  regulation  of  humidity  (amount  of 
water  vapor  in  the  air)  and  irrigation  (both  pertaining  to  quantity  of  water)  as 
well  as  the  quality  of  water  (purity--amount  of  dissolved  salts,  pH,  etc.) ,  taken  on 
a  daily  and  seasonal  basis.  The  edaphic  (soil  or  growing  medium)  factor  concerns 
the  type  of  materials  that  would  be  used  to  grow  CP.  The  nutrient  factor  would  con¬ 
cern  itself  with  the  application  of  fertilizers  as  organics  (animal/plant  derived 
products  such  as  fish  emulsion,  bone-meal,  kelp  extract,  living  or  dead  insects, 
worms,  etc.)  or  inorganics  (mineral  nutrients  such  as  chemical  compounds  containing 
nitrogen,  phosphorous,  potassium,  etc.). 

Basic  horticultural  techniques  would  include  categories  such  as  propagation 
(making  more  numbers  of  a  given  plant  by  either  sexual  means--by  seeds,  or  asexual 
means— any  type  of  cutting  such  as  leaf,  stem  or  root  or  the  newer  methods  using 
aseptic  culture) ,  plant  handling  techniques  (the  actual  how  to  plant  the  seeds,  make 
the  cuttings,  transplanting,  proper  types  of  containers,  etc.),  pest  control  (detec¬ 
tion  and  treatment  of  plant  diseases  and  disorders  caused  by  bacterial,  viral,  fungal, 
insects  and  other  animals,  environmental  factors  which  would  include  any  imbalance  in 
the  factors  mentioned  previously  as  well  as  toxic  substances  such  as  smog,  other 
pollutants,  etc.) .  Structures  for  the  housing  of  CP  could  be  most  anything  that 
would  contribute  to  the  maintenance  of  a  proper  balance  of  the  basic  factors. 

NEXT:  The  Light  Factor 

We  are  looking  for  a  catchy  logo  for  this  column.  The  winner  will  get  a  free 
subscription  for  1978.  Please  send  them  to  Leo  Song,  address  on  front  cover. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


CPN 


3 


Q.  I'm  having  trouble  with  my  D.  spathulata.  It  was 
growing  great  until  I  transplanted  it.  The  leaves 
don't  unfold  like  they  did  before.  What's  wrong? 

I  haven't  had  much  success  with  leaf  cuttings. 
Why?--K.  L.,  Los  Alamitos,  CA. 

A.  If  you  transplanted  this  species  too  deeply  in  the 
new  container,  it  may  rot.  Also,  it  takes  time  to 
overcome  the  shock  and  perhaps  some  injury  to  the 
roots  may  contribute  to  the  problem.  Try  to  give 
this  plant  good  drainage  and  good  light.  Leaf 
cuttings  of  this  species  are  difficult  to  start, 
and  I  would  suggest  you  try  root  cuttings. 


0.  In  regard  to  Darlingtonias ,  would  it  be  practical  to  apply  freeze  packs 
(previously  frozen)  close  to  the  plant's  roots?--P.  L. ,  Tulsa,  OK. 


A.  It  sounds  like  you're  willing  to  do  a  lot  of  work  to  grow  this  plant,  and  this 
is  one  of  several  methods  to  lower  root  temperatures  during  the  hot  months  of 
summer,  especially  at  night.  Let  me  know  how  it  works  out  a  year  from  now. 


Questions  and  answers  for  this  column  will  be  published  from  time  to  time  and  selected 
for  general  interest  to  all  CPN  readers.  Normally,  we  can't  answer  all  questions  from 
readers  either  personally  or  through  this  column.  However,  we  intend  to  publish  as 
many  as  we  can  in  the  future. 


NEWS  AND  VIEWS 

LES  KAUFMAN  writes:  Enclosed  please  find  our  contribution  to  CPN,  entitled  "On  the 
foraging  strategies  of  carnivorous  plants:  I.  Evidence  for  an  adaptive  response  to 
low  prey  availability  in  the  Venus'  Fly  Trap,  Dionaea  muscipula."  The  two  of  us 
(Mary  and  myself)  are  interested  in  the  general  life  history  of  all  carnivorous 
plants,  and  any  information  that  other  readers  could  provide  would  be  most  helpful. 

In  particular,  however,  we  would  at  this  moment  like  to  get  some  information  on  two 
matters  in  addition  to  that  discussed  within  this  paper:  a)  differences  in  prey 
taken  by  filamentous-leaved  and  spatulate-leaved  sundews,  and  b)  any  information  on 
the  occurrence  of  leaf-like  structures  in  carnivorous  plants:  when,  what  they  look 
like,  how  regularly  do  they  occur,  etc.  We  have  the  full  library  search  and  have 
been  combing  back  issues  of  CPN  through  it. 

JOE  MAZRIMAS  writes:  Did  you  ever  hear  of  carnivorous  seed?  Neither  did  I  until  I 
read  this  report  which  reviews  the  subject.  It  seems  like  the  mustard  family  has  a 
plant  called  the  shepherd's  purse  (Capsella  bursa-pastoris) ,  a  very  common  weed  in 
everyone's  yard  which  seems  to  have  seed  with  carnivorous  properties.  When  this  seed 
imbibes  water,  the  surrounding  mucilage  layer  hydrates,  swells  rapidly  and  bursts 
through  the  cell  walls  enveloping  the  seed  with  a  sticky  pellicle.  Mosquito  larvae, 
nematodes  and  microorganisms  can  stick  to  this  coating.  Using  Azacoll,  a  proteinase 
detector  molecule  which  releases  dye  in  the  presence  of  proteolytic  activity,  the 
authors  found  significant  activity  associated  with  the  mucilage  but  not  in  the  buffer 
in  which  the  seeds  were  incubated.  In  their  natural  environment,  the  seeds  seemed  to 
attract  nematodes  which  die  at  a  significantly  faster  rate  than  do  nematodes  in  a 
similar  situation  but  lacking  seeds.  The  ecological  significance  of  this  form  of 
carnivory  rests  on  the  fact  that  seeds  of  C.  bursa-pastoris  are  rather  small  and  con¬ 
tain  minimum  food  reserves.  Also,  the  plant  grows  in  semi-arid  soils  of  low  fertility. 
Perhaps,  the  presence  of  proteolytic  enzymes  acting  on  captured  prey  produces  a  nutri¬ 
tiously  rich  environment  immediately  surrounding  the  seed  which  may  allow  germination 
to  take  place.  The  competitive  advantage  over  other  nearby  plant  seeds  from  other 
species  is  obvious.  Whatever  the  true  meaning  of  this  adaptive  mechanism  is,  it 
certainly  is  a  good  example  of  meat  coming  to  the  mustard  I 

Ref.:  Barber,  J.  T.  &  C.  R.  Page  III,  Mucilaginous  Seed  Pellicles.  What's  New  in 

Plant  Physiology  8,  No.  6  (1976). 

Thanks  to  STEVE  WILLIAMS  for  sharing  with  us  this  passage  from  a  book  by  Reginald 
Farrer  titled  Alpine  and  Bog  Plants  written  in  1908: 

DROSERA:  Evil  little  things  they  are,  with  their  carnivorous  habit.  One 

wonders  what  crime  the  past  lives  of  Drosera  can  have  held,  that  now  their 
race  should  be  compelled  to  draw  so  ominous  and  unpleasant  a  weird  of  murder 
and  fraud.  When  will  Sundews  be  free  of  the  burden,  through  some  self- 
sacrificing  individual  plant  who  shall  starve  to  death  rather  than  take 
life,  and  so  redeem  his  race  into  happier  paths  of  peace  and  virtue? 


4 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


i 


R.  W.  Lutz,  Photography,  Iowa  City,  Iowa 
SEM  Mag.  210X 


R.  W.  LUTZ  writes:  I  have  enclosed  a  scanning  electron  micrograph  showing  the  basal 
portion  of  a  trigger  hair  from  Dionaea  muscipula.  The  constricted  portion  of  the 
trigger  hair  results  from  a  ring  of  specialized  cells.  These  cells  have  a  notch  in 
their  outer  cell  walls  and  are  thought  to  be  especially  sensitive  to  compression  or 
extension  which  would  result  from  any  movement  of  the  trigger  hair. 

If  your  readers  enjoy  scanning  electron  micrographs,  I  would  like  to  suggest  that 
they  investigate  a  book  by  Kessel  and  Shih  entitled:  Scanning  Electron  Microscopy 
in  Biology--A  Student's  Atlas  on  Biological  Organization.  Spr inger-Verlag ,  Publisher. 
The  book  includes  micrographs  of  botanical  and  zoological  interest  and  includes  two 
micrographs  of  Dionaea. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


CPN 


5 


ROBERT  MULLER  writes:  I  have  growing  in  a  glass  jar  a  Nepenthes  superba.  As  an 
experiment,  since  I  grow  a  few  ferns  hydroponically ,  I  decided  to  try  a  cutting 
of  Nepenthes.  At  first,  I  had  no  hope  because  I  thought  the  cutting  would  rot 
off  on  the  bottom.  It  is  doing  fine  with  some  new  top  growth  and  a  healthy  root 
system.  I  used  rain  water  collected  from  my  roof  downspout  and  followed  proce¬ 
dures  described  in  books  for  hydroponic  culture  with  one  difference.  Since  it 
is  a  known  fact  that  Nepenthes  roots  should  be  disturbed  as  little  as  possible, 

I  did  not  make  the  monthly  changes  of  fresh  water.  I  did,  however,  add  water  as 
evaporation  occurred.  Twice  in  the  6  months  of  growing,  I  have  given  a  very  weak 
feeding  of  ORTHO-GRO  fertilizer  when  adding  the  evaporated  water.  So  far  so  good. 
Ever  been  tried  with  success  before?  I  don't  even  hope  for  pitchers  because  the 
humidity  in  my  home  runs  around  55%  in  winter  with  gas  heat  and  a  humidifier  going 
constantly.  I  hope  to  get  another  cutting  started  and  try  changing  water  to  see 
what  happens. 

MICHAEL  HUNT  writes:  I  just  recently  did  some  CP  field  work  north/northwest  of 
McClellanville ,  South  Carolina.  I  would  like  to  report  a  very  impressive  field 
of  S.  flava  and  S.  minor.  Upon  further  observations  of  this  site,  I  found  S.  rubra 
I  also  found  P.  lutea  scattered  about;  they  were  all  growing  in  clumps.  I  found 
D.  brevifolia  and  D.  oapillaris ;  both  of  the  Drosera  (species)  were  fairly  abundant 

STEVE  ROSE  writes:  Some  tuberous  Droseras  that  are  found  in  Western  Australia  and 
where  and  how  they  grow  here  are  listed  below  followed  by  some  cultural  notes  on 
how  to  grow  them.  Some  are  unnamed  species. 

Drosera  bulbosa  is  a  sand  tuber  that  grows  in  poorly  drained  sandy  swamps 
that  are  dry  in  the  summer. 

Drosera  bulbosa  (hills  form)  This  form  was  formerly  called  D.  "species" 
Erickson  and  grown  in  poorly  drained  loams  and  areas  in  the  hills.  The 
areas  are  also  dry  in  summer. 

D.  zonaria  always  grows  in  deep  well  drained  white  quartz  sand.  It  can 
stand  plenty  of  sun  and  a  deeper  pot  than  usual  should  be  used. 

D.  "El  Cabello  Blanco"  This  species  has  no  official  name  yet  but  it  belongs 
in  the  D.  rosulata,  D.  macrophylla  group.  It's  a  beautiful  plant  that 
grows  with  orchids  in  poorly  drained  loam  only.  This  species  has  forms 
which  are  really  strange  since  some  of  them  produce  a  few  or  no  glandular 
sticky  hairs.  The  plants  just  come  up  like  a  flat  rosette  of  hairless 
leaves  and  then  dies  back  again  without  hassling  insects. 

D.  microphylla  This  species  is  difficult  to  find  but  grows  in  shady  areas 

with  leaf  mould  in  loamy  soils  that  are  always  well  drained. 

D.  pallida  This  large  form  grows  along  with  D.  drummondi  in  deep  white 
quartz  sand  or  a  slight  silt  base.  It  should  be  planted  deep  in  a  pot. 

When  potting  tuberous  Droseras ,  use  4-6  inch  pots  (6"  are  better)  and  the  medium 
should  be  well  drained  and  firm  around  the  tubers  and  still  have  moderate  drying 
qualities  when  needed.  Don't  use  terra  cotta  pots.'  The  Droseras  should  be  sprayed 

at  one-half  or  full  emergence  with  a  systemic  insecticide  such  as  Metasystox 

(6  drops  per  pint  of  water).  This  will  knock  any  nematodes,  and  this  method  is 
also  helpful  with  pygmy  Droseras  since  they  will  respond  gratefully.  I  have  had 
less  rot  using  a  systemic  insecticide. 

The  Byblis  gigantea  colony  that  was  under  fire  now  shows  thousands  of  seedlings 
everywhere.  Most  of  them  are  found  around  the  parents  and  in  areas  of  greater 

moisture  retention.  The  heat  of  the  fire  must  trigger  the  seeds  to  germinate  and 

also  sterilize  the  soil  for  about  1-2"  deep,  which  is  an  important  factor.  Perhaps 
the  ash  on  the  surface  of  the  soil  turned  the  soil  somewhat  neutral  in  pH.  By  the 

way,  the  seeds  that  germinated  must  have  been  from  prior  years  of  dispersal  as  the 

current  season's  seeds  were  unripe  and  destroyed  in  the  fire.  Perhaps  Byblis  seed 
can  remain  dormant  for  years.  I  expect  most  of  the  seedlings  to  die  in  the  first 
season  due  to  dehydration.  Some  are  poorly  advanced  while  others  are  over  6"  high. 
Assasin  bugs  certainly  keep  the  plants  clean.  I  noticed  that  this  plant  exudes  a 
very  sweet  smell  which  is  quite  distinctive.  In  the  field,  it  flowers  for  nearly 
5  months  from  October  to  the  end  of  March  (mid-spring  to  early  fall) .  Its  roots 
readily  generate  new  plants  in  large  numbers  when  the  stem  is  disturbed  or  broken. 

MAKOTO  HONDA  compliments  CPN  on  its  contents.  He  also  informs  us  that  a  Japanese 
newspaper  company  is  running  a  continuing  series  of  weekly  magazine  features  that 
when  assembled  will  be  an  encyclopedia  of  horticulture.  The  section  on  CP  (#64)  is 
due  in  early  1977,  probably  January  or  February.  Makoto  has  contributed  some 
photos  to  the  issue  which  will  be  about  30  pages,  half  of  which  will  be  photos 
with  Latin  plant  names  (text  in  Japanese) .  This  can  be  purchased  for  ¥  360  (about 
$1.20)  from  Asahi  Shimbun  Publications  Dept.,  Shimbashi,  Minatoku,  Tokyo,  Japan. 

The  name  of  the  magazine  is  weekly  SASHI-HYAKKA ,  SEKAI  NO  SHYOKUBUTSU  (Plants  of 
the  World),  No.  64. 


6 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


ROBERT  M.  HAYNES  writes:  I  currently  have  N.  x  Diokensoniana  and  N.  x  superba.  Both 
are  currently  outdoors  and  pitcher ing  well  even  though  it  drops  to  below  50°  at  night 
here  in  Berkeley,  Ca.  They  are  in  an  upright  plastic  lined  frame  on  casters  and  a 
Ward's  humidifier  mounted  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  assembly  supplies  constant 
humidity.  When  I  was  living  in  the  apartment  on  Durant  St.,  the  plants  never  did 
well  even  though  they  had  daily  care.  Now  that  I  have  them  outside,  everything  is 
working  well:  my  Dionaea  had  small  green  traps  averaging  1/2"  long  in  the  apartment. 

In  3  months,  they  have  increased  to  1-1/4"  long  and  are  bright  red.  The  other  plants 
have  responded  in  a  similar  fashion.  Also,  I  have  been  using  Berkeley  tap  water  and 
have  experienced  no  "browning"  or  other  symptoms  of  high  mineral  content.  However,  I 
do  leach  the  growing  medium  every  two  months  or  so  with  plenty  of  running  water  and 
this  may  be  the  reason  for  my  success. 

At  one  time  or  another,  we  have  all  suspected  the  admonition  that  CP  should  not  be 
fertilized  by  way  of  their  soil  medium.  LANDON  T.  ROSS  took  a  preliminary  look  at 
this  problem.  The  question  is  whether  Sarraoenias ,  for  instance,  grow  in  such  poor 
soils  because  of  decreased  competition,  or  are  nutrients  in  richer  soils  toxic  or 
depressant  in  some  way.  He  set  up  four  plastic  pots  for  his  experiment,  each  contain¬ 
ing  pure  Canadian  peat  and  buried  to  the  rim  in  his  outdoor  bog  area.  Watering  was  by 
means  of  rain  usually,  tapwater  occasionally.  The  test  plant  was  S.  minor  divisions 
from  the  same  large  clone.  Soil  and  plant  modifications,  and  results,  are  as  follows: 

(1)  Draining  holes  of  pot  open,  100%  peat — Plant  healthy  and  doing  well  after  26  months. 

(2)  Pot  drainage  holes  closed,  50%  peat  and  50%  composted  sheep  manure--Died  after  24 
months  without  doing  well.  (3)  Pot  drainage  holes  closed,  100%  pure  peat--Plant  healthy 
and  doing  well  after  26  months.  (4)  Pot  drainage  holes  open,  50%  peat,  50%  manure — Died 
after  18  months  with  practically  no  growth  since  transplanting.  It  would  appear  that 
relative  degree  of  hydration  (or  other  factors  involved  in  drainage  or  lack  thereof) 

was  not  important;  but  soil  richness  was.  Landon  caution^  against  extrapolating  too 
much  from  these  results. 

JOE  MAZRIMAS  and  DON  SCHNELL  report  confirmation  of  Don's  original  findings  that  soaking 
in  a  solution  of  potassium  gibberellate  (up  to  1000  ppm,  made  up  from  either  10%  or  75% 
salt)  will  stimulate  germination  of  Byblis  gigantea  seeds.  (CPN  4:66-67  1975)  Don's 
seeds  germinated  on  German  Peat  in  10-14  days  in  a  terrarium  under  fluorescent  lights. 
Joe  germinated  his  seed  in  plastic  petri  dishes  on  several  layers  of  filter  paper 
soaked  with  the  hormone  solution.  These  dishes  were  also  exposed  to  fluorescent  lights 
(18  hr.  on,  6  hr.  off) .  During  this  period  of  time  none  of  the  control  seed  samples 
germinated.  Neither  Don  nor  Joe  noted  the  seedling  deformity  and  die-off  that  was 
reported  originally.  This  time,  Don  partially  covered  the  seeds  with  peat  rather  than 
leaving  them  lie  on  top.  Meanwhile,  Joe  carefully  transplanted  the  seeds  showing  a 
0.5  cm.  root  growth  to  a  sphagnum  moss-perlite  mixture  where  the  plantlets  resumed 
normal  growth.  There  was  no  need  to  heat  or  treat  the  seeds  with  fire  as  in  previous 
reports . 

ROUND  ROBIN  LETTER  EXCHANGE 

TERRY  BROKENBRO,  937  Laburnham  Gardens,  Upminster,  Essex,  RM14  1HX,  Great  Britain) 
started  this  letter  exchange  to  help  CPNers  with  similar  interests  to  correspond  with 
one  another  and  also  supply  a  future  information  source  for  publishing  in  CPN.  Anyone 
interested  in  joining  the  exchanqe  should  write  to  Terry  first  enclosing  details  of  CP 
that  they  are  interested  in.  The  rules  are  as  follows: 

(1)  All  CPN  subscribers  are  eligible. 

(2)  Send  full  details  of  particular  interests  (e.g.  Nepenthes ,  Drosera,  Pinguicula  or 
CP  in  general).  Even  if  there  is  a  particular  interest  in  one  species  (e.g. 

Prosera  binata  complex)  this  should  be  mentioned  so  that  if  the  demand  is  great 
enough,  a  R.R.  could  be  started  just  for  this. 

(3)  Each  Robin  would  consist  of  approximately  8-15  participants  although  more  than 
one  R.R.  can  be  set  up  for  anv  one  subject. 

(4)  CPN  subscribers  may  join  as  many  Robins  as  they  wish. 

(5)  R.R.  participants  should  realize  that  in  fairness  to  others,  they  should  not  join 
when  there  is  a  possibility  of  having  to  cease  correspondence  after  a  few  months 
due  to  personal  circumstances. 

(6)  Upon  receiving  correspondence,  this  should  be  read  and  passed  to  the  next  partici¬ 
pant  as  soon  as  possible  in  order  to  have  an  uninterrupted  flow.  Participants  are 
invited  to  add  any  comments  or  information  to  the  letter  or  they  may  choose  to  just 
pass  it  on  to  the  next  person  on  the  list  with  a  suitable  explanatory  note.  Also, 
remove  your  letter  after  it  has  made  the  complete  circuit. 

However,  please  be  patient  while  waiting  for  your  R.R.  to  begin  as  its  formation  will 
depend  upon  the  number  of  requests  that  have  been  received  for  that  particular  sub¬ 
ject.  Remember  that  for  the  price  of  a  stamp,  you  will  be  corresponding  with  several 
growers  at  a  maximum  of  every  two  months  and  learning  to  help  your  own  knowledqe  and 
collection.  So  why  not  work  out  your  own  Round  Robin  interests  and  drop  Terry  a  line 
today.  After  all,  you  will  be  helping  CPN  since  a  qood  portion  of  the  information  may 
find  its  way  into  CPN  pages  for  others  to  share. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


CPN 


7 


SEED  AND  PLANT  EXCHANGE  NEWS 

The  CPN  Seed  and  Plant  Exchange  is  now  into  its  fourth  year  and  as  any  organism 
under  stress,  is  continually  evolving  to  survive.  The  latest  Exchange  list  con¬ 
tained  452  separate  plant  entries  which  include  hybrids,  forms,  subspecies,  and 
varieties  (136  entries  for  Drosera ,  70  for  Nepenthes ,  41  Pinguicula ,  71  Utricu- 
laria ,  114  Sarraoenia ,  and  20  others).  About  75%  of  these  entries  were  offered 
for  trade  by  one  or  more  of  the  154  participants. 

Tn  the  past  Bob  Ziemer  has  coordinated  the  Exchange  program  and  produced  the 
exchange  lists,  first  quarterly  and  later  semiannually.  Leo  Song  has  reproduced 
and  mailed  the  lists  to  the  participants.  Partly  as  a  result  of  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  Exchanae  and  partly  due  to  increased  printing  and  postage  costs,  the  fre¬ 
quency  of  new  lists  has  been  reduced  to  only  one  list  per  year.  This  severely 
limits  the  usefulness  and  timeliness  of  the  exchange  information.  Thus  a  new 
system  is  evolving. 

The  present  CP  list  which  listed  CP  that  are  being  grown,  seed  or  plants,  to 
trade  will  now  be  limited  to  a  simple  inventory  and  will  be  published  annually. 
Bob  Ziemer,  who  has  done  an  excellent  job  in  the  past  will  continue  in  his  role 
to  gather  the  data  for  the  inventory  list.  Lynn  Macey  will  handle  the  computer 
work  and  L.  Song  will  publish  and  distribute  them  as  before.  Due  to  Bob's 
increasing  work  commitments  and  the  large  number  of  participants,  the  seed/ 
plant  exchange  business  will  be  handled  under  a  different  system.  The  coeditors 
feel  that  in  the  interest  of  fairness  to  Bob,  a  seed  bank  should  be  set  up  and 
a  nominal  fee  be  charged  for  packets  of  seed  to  cover  labor  pertaining  to 
storage,  packaging,  cost  of  materials,  postage,  etc.  A  list  of  seeds  available 
from  the  seed  bank  will  be  published  in  CPN  whenever  significant  changes  occur. 

We  would  like  to  solicit  a  volunteer  to  handle  the  seed  bank:  collecting  dona¬ 
tions  of  seed  (for  which  the  donor  would  be  given  credit  in  future  purchases) , 
storage,  packaging  and  mailing,  as  well  as  the  associated  bookwork  and  notifi¬ 
cation  of  CPN  of  seed  inventory. 

As  far  as  cuttings  and  plant  exchange  is  concerned,  this  will  be  handled  through 
the  Want  Ads.  Due  to  the  changes  being  made,  please  revise  and  send  in  your 
inventory  as  soon  as  possible  to  Bob  Ziemer  (P.0.  Box  4562,  Areata,  CA  95521). 

Do  not  remit  any  money.  The  funds  sent  in  be  previous  donors  will  be  used  to 
defray  the  cost  of  reproducing  the  future  lists. 

If  our  readers  have  any  suggestions,  criticisms,  ideas,  etc.,  please  write  to 
any  of  the  coeditors.  The  system  as  proposed  above  is  still  subject  to  change 
depending  on  reader  reaction  and  further  developments. 


COMPUTERIZED  CARNIVOROUS  PLANT  BIBLIOGRAPHIC  SERVICE--THE  KWIC  SYSTEM 

LYNN  MACEY  (511  North  Eby,  McPherson,  KS  67460)  originated  this  exciting  new  project 
and  is  managing  it  very  well.  We  have  seen  complete  printouts  of  all  the  bibliography 
in  storage  thus  far  and  the  results  are  fantastic.  What  he  has  done  is  store  all 
available  bibliographic  references  to  carnivorous  plants  in  citation  form  along  with 
rather  complete  summaries  where  they  could  be  obtained.  The  co-editors  get  a  lot  of 
mail  inquiring  into  carnivorous  plant  literature  and  this  service  is  the  answer.  Lynn 
is  one  of  many  of  you  who  did  not  have  access  to  a  complete  botanical  library  or  in- 
depth  literature  citations,  so  he  very  effectively  decided  to  do  something  about  it. 
This  service  will  not  only  be  useful  to  anyone  working  on  a  specific  project,  but  also 
to  anyone  who  wishes  to  develop  a  thorough  CP  bibliography.  There  is  a  variety  of 
printouts,  including  routine  alphabetical  author,  genus,  species,  special  subjects 
such  as  ecology,  growing  tips,  etc.  Lynn  will  send  a  complete  description  of  the 
system  along  with  the  sample  printouts  if  you  request  it  and  send  him  a  SELF-ADDRESSED 
ENVELOPE  WITH  TWO  FIRST  CLASS  STAMPS.  He  only  charges  his  actual  cost  in  postage, 
paper  and  printing--his  efforts  and  the  computer  time  are  voluntary.  By  the  way,  Lynn 
soaks  up  new  material  to  add  to  his  computer  storage  like  a  sponge.  Many  citations 
still  need  summaries  of  the  complete  nature  he  prefers  (even  to  the  listing  of  all 
species  in  entire  books!)  since  they  are  from  foreign  or  otherwise  unavailable 
sources,  and  he  requests  reprints  of  all  CP  material  published  by  any  of  our  sub¬ 
scribers,  future,  current  and  past.  So  go  through  those  old  stacks  of  reprints  and 
keep  Lynn  in  mind  when  mailing  out  reprints  of  any  future  papers.  Send  for  his 
synopsis  today — you  will  be  pleased  (do  not  forget  the  envelope  with  two  stamps) . 
Please  send  a  legal  sized  or  larger  envelope. 

Lynn  considers  a  reference  incomplete  if  it  lacks  an  abstract  or  is  not  fully 
described  with  the  key  word  items.  It  is  better  to  err  on  the  side  of  including 
too  much  information  rather  than  too  little.  He  would  like  copies  of  the  article 
if  possible  and  is  willing  to  return  articles  to  their  owners  if  they  prefer.  So 
to  those  people  who  are  publishing  their  research,  Lynn  requests  reprints  to  keep 
his  service  up-to-date! 


8 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


SHORT  NOTES 


FROST  PROTECTION  FOR  DORMANT  CP 

by  Terry  W.  Brokenbro 


In  CPN  IV,  No.  4,  page  58,  Joe  Mazrimas  discussed  conditions  and  preparations  for  the 
dormancy  of  Sarraoenias  and  North  American  Drosera .  Although  these  plants,  once  dor¬ 
mant,  can  stand  extremely  cold  conditions,  they  are  at  their  most  vulnerable,  as 
regards  tender  growths,  during  late  fall  and  early  spring.  Therefore,  the  following 
points  may  be  worth  noting  as  regards  frost  protection  of  these  growths.  Once  the  CP 
are  truly  dormant,  or  risk  of  frost  over,  any  coverings,  etc.,  mentioned  can  then  be 
removed . 

1)  Local  buildings,  trees,  hedges,  etc.,  can  often  determine  the  possibility  of  frost. 
For  example,  cold  wind  mixing  with  higher  warm  air  can  lessen  the  risk  while  an  area 
protected  from  the  wind  would  increase  the  possibility. 

2)  A  light,  dry  soil  loses  heat  more  quickly  than  a  heavy,  compact  one  which  will 
tend  to  draw  heat  from  lower  depths.  Even  in  both  soils,  if  wet,  heat  will  be  con¬ 
ducted  more  efficiently  and  the  risk  of  frost  reduced. 

3)  A  badly  air-drained  site  will  lead  to  a  frost  pocket  and  thus  greatly  increase  the 
frost  risk  (see  diagram).  These  sites  are  usually  found  on  a  slight  slope  where  a 
katabatic  wind  (slow  moving  volume  of  cold  air)  can  form,  which  will  flow  like  water 
down  the  slope  to  the  valley  bottom.  If  the  drainage  is  blocked  on  route,  e.g.  by  a 
high  wall  in  your  garden,  a  pocket  can  develop  in  which  a  very  severe  frost  can  devel¬ 
op.  This  can  not  only  be  dangerous  to  partially  dormant  CP,  but  also  increase  a  glass 
house  fuel  bill  considerably.  The  most  famous  frost-hollow  (valley  bottom  into  which 
the  katabatic  wind  flows)  is  found  in  the  Austrian  Alps,  near  Vienna.  Here  tempera¬ 
tures  have  been  recorded  as  low  as  minus  60°F,  while  the  nearby  mountains  (10,200  feet 
plus)  were  a  "mild"  minus  2°F. 

4)  On  a  night  when  frost  is  expected  any  cover  which  can  be  applied  over  the  plants 
will  slow  down  the  rate  of  loss  of  radiating  heat  and  lessen  the  risk  of  frost.  For 
example,  fruit  tree  nettings,  shading,  sheets  of  glass  and  placing  plants  under  the 
canopy  of  shrubs  and  bushes  (evergreens)  are  especially  effective.  A  mist  spray  used 
over  outside  plants  will  protect  tender  growths  as  when  ice  is  formed,  heat  is  released 
and  therefore  a  wet  surface  can  protect  a  tender  growth  from  a  minor  frost.  Further, 
it  should  also  be  remembered  that  there  is  no  better  insulator  than  snow  and  this 
should  be  used  on  any  occasion  which  permits. 

5)  Even  local  weather  stations  may  not  be  able  to  say  whether  you  are  likely  to  have  a 
frost  in  your  back  garden  that  night  because  of  varying  local  features  such  as  woods, 
lakes  or  even  skyscrapers  which  help  to  create  peculiar  microclimates.  However,  the 
following  should  be  noted  as  bad  signs  for  possibility  of  frost,  using  a  few  simple 
instruments:  a)  No  wind,  b)  cloudless  evening  or  night,  c)  rising  barometer,  d)  low 
humidity,  e)  falling  temperature.  Yet  these  signs  should  never  be  relied  upon  100% 

as  it  is  too  easy  for  a  windy,  warm  and  cloudy  evening  to  change  to  a  still,  cold  and 
cloudless  but  humid  3  a.m.  the  next  morning  with  a  severe  frost. 


The  following  may  be  of  interest  in  winter  glasshouse  use,  including  those  which  are 
heated  as  well  as  unheated. 

1)  Clear  glass  is  absolutely  essential  during  winter  months  otherwise  valuable  incoming 
heat  and  light  are  lost. 

2)  Double  glazing  is  valuable  especially  in  the  glasshouse  roof  for  cutting  heat  loss. 
During  extremely  cold  weather,  snow  will  also  settle  more  readily  as  another  bonus. 

3)  Even  during  mid-afternoon,  with  the  sun  shining,  both  air  and  soil  termperatures 
are  beginning  to  fall.  All  glasshouse  ventilators  should  therefore  be  closed  as  early 
as  possible  and  shading  applied  to  the  glasshouse  roof  during  late  afternoon  (or 
earlier  if  no  sun  is  shining)  with  considerable  effect. 

4)  A  couple  of  hurricane  lamps  placed  in  a  small  sized  glasshouse  (say  8  feet  x  6  feet) 
will  keep  quite  a  severe  frost  at  bay.  It  is  not  the  heat  itself  from  the  lamps  but 
the  movement  of  air  preventing  the  formation  of  frost  and  damaging  the  plants  therein. 
Failing  all  else  even  a  couple  of  sheets  of  newspaper  placed  directly  over  the  plants 
will  prevent  any  damage  occurring  during  a  light  frost. 

5)  If  tender  plants  have  been  subjected  to  frost,  spray  plants  with  cold  water  the 
first  thing  next  morning,  especially  if  the  sun  is  shining. 

6)  Containers  with  dormant  aquatic  Utrioulavias  left  in  them  should  not  be  prevented 
from  having  ice  formed  across  the  surface.  The  ice  forms  and  floats  but  the  tempera¬ 
ture  in  the  bottom  mud  where  the  winter  buds  lay  will  remain  constant  at  about  4°C. 


Vol.  VI,  No.  1 


CPN 


9 


Environment  and  Plant  Life 
Weather-wise  Gardening 
Observers  Book  of  Weather 
Garden  News  (Periodical) 


S.  A.  Searle 

S.  A.  Searle  and  L.  P.  Smith 
Reinald  M.  Lester 
Various  issues/authors. 


A  POSSIBLE  ALTERNATIVE  FOOD  FOR  CARNIVOROUS  PLANTS 

by  Jeffrey  Del  Col 

George  Sergeant's  note  in  Vol.  V,  No.  1  of  CPN  about  feeding  powdered  milk  to 
Droseras  led  me  to  do  some  thinking  about  other  possible  non-living  foods  for 
carnivorous  plants.  I  recognize,  of  course,  that  living  insects  are  the  best 
food  for  our  plants,  but  we  must  concede  that  live  insects  are  a  seasonal  item 
and  that  indoor  gardeners  face  special  problems  in  feeding  live  insects  to  their 
plants.  Probably  the  best  live  insects  for  home  culture  are  the  wingless  or 
vestigial  winged  mutants  of  the  common  fruit  fly.  I  formerly  raised  thousands  of 
fruit  flies  to  feed  to  tropical  fish  and  am  aware  of  the  difficulties  in  culturing 
them.  The  cultures  must  be  carefully  maintained  lest  they  spoil,  run  out  of  nutri¬ 
ent,  or  become  contaminated  by  wild-type  Drosophila .  This  last  problem  is  a 
serious  one.  The  wild  flies  quickly  overwhelm  the  less  vigorous  mutants,  and  the 
person  growing  the  flies  soon  has  a  large  swarm  of  winged  pests  loose  in  the  home. 

If  living  insects  are  undesirable  in  the  home,  what  other  foods  are  suitable? 
Classically,  raw  meat  and  cooked  egg  white  have  been  used  to  maintain  carnivorous 
plants.  However,  proportions  of  these  may  be  hard  to  gauge,  and  they  must  be  pre¬ 
pared  and  refrigerated.  My  experience  with  tropical  fish  leads  me  to  make  the 
following  proposal:  we  may  be  able  to  feed  our  plants  some  of  the  commercial  freeze- 
dried  tropical  fish  foods. 

These  foods  are  relatively  cheap,  clean,  and  require  no  care  other  than  seeing  to  it 
that  the  lid  of  the  container  is  kept  tightly  shut.  An  amazing  variety  of  freeze- 
dried  insects,  worms,  crustaceans  and  meat  are  available.  Freeze-dried  brine  shrimp 
is  the  most  common  food,  but  I  have  purchased  or  seen  freeze-dried  daphnia,  squid 
flakes,  meal  worms,  mosquito  larvae,  beef  liver  and  tubifex  worms.  All  these  are 
high  protein  foods  with  a  protein  content  ranging  from  around  thirty  to  seventy  per 
cent  protein  according  to  the  analyses  printed  on  the  containers.  They  can  be 
readily  portioned  and  even  powdered  for  smaller  plants.  Because  a  container  of 
these  foods  should  last  a  long  time,  they  are  quite  cheap  over  the  long  run. 

I  must  emphasize  that  this  is  only  a  suggestion.  I  have  done  no  experiments, 
though  I  plan  to  this  summer  using  D.  rotundi folia .  One  possible  drawback  to  brine 
shrimp  may  be  a  residue  of  salt  that  could  harm  the  plants.  No  sodium  content  was 
listed  on  the  labels  I  have  checked,  so  research  is  needed  to  discover  how  much 
salt  is  in  brine  shrimp  and  other  freeze-dried  foods.  I  hope  other  CP  enthusiasts 
will  be  willing  to  try  some  of  these  foods.  Only  by  experiment  can  we  know  if  they 
are  a  convenient  and  beneficial  food  for  our  plants. 


10 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


SEEKING  THE  PYGMY  DROSERAS 

by  Steve  Rose 

Many  of  the  plants  that  I  will  describe  are  new  species  and  forms  and  have  yet  to  be 
named  by  botanists.  I  have  seen  these  plants  growing  in  their  native  locations  and 
so  flower  colors  and  locations  will  have  to  suffice  as  means  of  identification.  It's 
rather  confusing,  but  it's  the  only  way  to  identify  the  plants  so  far.  Locations  are 
in  quotes. 

"TOODYAY"  PINK.  This  plant  grows  in  heavy  ground  silt,  a  sandy  clay  and  rarely  in 
sand  with  wetter  ground  than  for  D.  miniata  and  D.  platy stigma .  The  flower  color  in 
4  locations  is  much  the  same  but  color  intensity  changes  as  well  as  a  very  slight 
stipule  shape.  It  likes  to  grow  in  open  areas  between  bushes  that  have  roots  in 
moist  ground  all  year.  It  is  late  to  go  dormant  and  I  have  seen  it  in  a  sandy  swamp 
with  "MUCHEA"  pink  (see  below)  and  D.  nitidula .  I  grow  it  in  sand  and  peat  mix,  and 
it  grows  easy  and  flowers  well.  I  can  even  keep  it  in  water  all  the  time,  and  it 
grows  even  in  summer.  It  goes  dormant  after  flowering  as  with  most  pygmy  Droseras . 

D.  platy  stigma  (common)  .  This  is  an  easy  and  best  variety  of  plant  that  grows  in 
heavy  gravel  country  with  dry  summers  and  late  dormancy.  It's  never  found  in  wet 
ground  like  the  Albany  variety,  but  I  grow  it  in  a  sandy-peat  mix  or  light  gravel  and 
peat.  I  stand  it  in  water  all  summer. 

D.  miniata .  This  is  a  common  and  easy  plant  to  grow  in  sand-peat  mix.  It  dries  out 
in  summer  and  has  a  late  dormancy.  I  stand  it  in  water  in  summer,  and  it  seems  to 
grow  alright.  It  naturally  grows  near  or  with  D.  platy  stigma  and  produces  gemmae 
very  well. 

The  "MT.  MANYPEAK"  type.  A  robust  species  that  grows  quite  large  in  heavy  gravel 
where  it  is  very  windy  and  dry.  The  leaves,  nevertheless,  remain  sticky  which  is 
amazing  considering  the  conditions.  It  has  large  purple-pink  flowers  and  a  late 
dormancy  and  prefers  to  grow  in  dry,  rough  conditions  rather  than  in  sand.  This 
plant  is  similar  to  D.  drummondi  and  seems  to  be  part  of  a  group  of  2-3  species  and 
related  to  a  few  from  Albany  and  1  or  2  from  Gidgegannup.  The  plants  grow  tall  and 
send  out  aerial  roots.  I  grow  in  washed  gravel  on  the  surface  and  a  sandy  peat  mix 
underneath.  I  found  some  down  in  Albany  with  gemmae  buds  in  summer  which  is  4-5 
months  out  of  season,  but  they  grew  well  after  rooting  and  take  about  6-8  weeks  to 
establish. 

D.  nitidula.  This  is  a  highly  unusual  robust  and  giant  type  of  the  species  with  the 
possibility  of  it  being  a  new  species.  It  grows  in  the  Cannington  swamps  and  I  grow 
it  in  a  peat-sand  mix  and  allow  it  to  stand  in  water  in  summer.  It  takes  similar 
conditions  as  the  common  D.  nitidula  and  D.  pulahella. 

Big  D.  leucoblasta  is  the  most  unusual  and  beautiful  because  of  its  brilliant  metal¬ 
lic  orange  flower  with  a  dark  brown  center.  Another  form  has  an  even  larger  flower 
which  is  bright  yellow  and  may  be  a  new  species.  It  is  easy  to  lose  because  of  rot, 
and  I  have  much  difficulty  establishing  them.  It  grows  in  sandy  conditions  unlike 
other  forms  and  is  late  to  go  dormant.  Although  the  ground  is  dry  in  summer,  I  prefer 
to  keep  them  damp  and  shaded,  and  some  seem  to  survive.  Gemmae  derived  plants  will  be 
easier  as  they  can  become  conditioned  much  more  easily.  Again,  I  use  a  layer  of 
washed  sand  on  the  surface  and  a  sand-peat  below. 

(Ed.  I  use  Benlate  spray  on  all  pygmy  Droseras  before  planting  them  and  follow 
this  procedure  up  with  another  spray  over  the  plants  and  medium  about  7-10  days 
later.  As  a  result,  I  have  cut  down  on  the  number  of  plants  which  succumb  to 
rotting  by  a  considerable  amount.  J.A.M.) 

D.  pycnoblasta  is  a  pygmy  plant  that  grows  in  deep  sand  in  a  desert  with  semi-arid 
conditions.  It  produces  a  large  dormancy  bud  and  sometimes  grows  with  big  D.  leuco¬ 
blasta  and  other  forms.  Although  the  plant  rots  easily  in  cultivation  probably 
because  it  can't  adjust  readily  to  summer  watering  which  is  necessary  to  survival  in 
pots,  I  manage  to  grow  some  in  the  sand  on  the  surface  and  sand-peat  mixture  under¬ 
neath  method,  but  one  needs  some  luck  in  growing  it. 

"MUCHEA"  PINK  species  from  Seven  Mile  swamp  Gingin  is  a  fairly  easy  one  with  pink 
flowers  and  has  a  very  late  dormancy  or  not  at  all  in  some  locations.  It's  a  golden 
green  plant  that  seems  easy  to  grow  in  just  a  sand-peat  mixture. 

D.  leucoblasta .  This  is  the  common  type  which  is  very  variable  under  all  different 
conditions.  I  found  this  species  growing  dry  in  loam,  sand,  clay  and  gravel.  It  has 

an  early  dormancy  and  its  flower  is  plain  orange  or  a  bright  orange-red  color.  Some 

forms  even  have  very  pale  flowers  (Wongan  Hills)  but  all  seem  to  have  the  same  con¬ 
sistent  stipule  shape.  The  extreme  forms  differ  in  stipule  shape.  I  find  this  one 

hard  to  cultivate,  especially  with  some  forms,  but  others  grow  with  50%  survivors. 

I  have  some  in  plain  dark  peat  moss  in  water,  and  they  grow  alright,  while  others 
are  dormant  out  of  water  and  remain  so  regardless  of  watering  but  remain  green.  A 
change  in  temperature  may  induce  awareness. 


p.  10.10 


Drosera  "Bannister 


(Drawing  by  Barbara  Stewart) 


Supplement  Vol.  VI,  No.  2 
Insert  between  p.  10  and  11 


June,  1977 


p.  10.20 


Drosera  pa  I aceae 


1  cm 


(Drawing  by  Barbara  Stewart) 


p.  10.30 


Drosera  plarysrigma 


Supplement  Vol.  VI,  No.  4 
Insert  between  p.  10  and  11 


December,  1977 


p.  10.40 


Drosera  scorpioides 


(Drawing  by  Barbara  Stewart) 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


CPN 


11 


Variable  D .  platy stigma  from  Chittering  may  be  a  new  species  and  grows  quite  easily 
in  heavy  gravel--an  ironstone  gravel.  It  is  cultivated  easily,  and  I  keep  mine 
standing  in  water  in  a  sand-peat  mix. 

YELLOW-FLOWERED  DROSERA  from  Regans  Ford  (Gingin) .  This  plant  was  found  four  years 
ago  and  remains  unnamed  today,  but  it  grows  in  deep  yellow-white  sand  sometimes  with 
D.  paleacea  nearby  but  never  together.  It  has  an  early  dormancy  and  sports  a  nice 
pale-bright  yellow  flower.  I  grow  it  in  washed  sand  surface  by  pressing  the  buds 
into  the  sand,  and  it's  kept  moist,  not  wet.  I  lost  80%  of  my  original  collection, 
but  it  was  made  at  the  wrong  time. 

EXTRA  LARGE  "MUCHEA"  PINK.  This  plant  grows  in  peat  moss  in  shade  and  grows  very 
robust  in  only  one  small  location  by  a  spring  in  thick  bush.  It  does  not  like  hot, 
sunny  conditions  but  flowers  very  well  showing  large  flowers  on  multiple  stalks 
(about  4-6) .  I  grow  mine  on  sawdust  in  3"  pots  that  sit  in  water,  and  the  leaves 
stay  sticky  and  may  go  dormant  but  should  not  go  altogether. 

LAKE  "BADGEBUP"  WHITE  FLOWER.  A  new  species  that's  easy  to  grow  which  grows  along 
with  D.  nitidula  by  the  lake's  shores  in  sand  the  little  black  peat.  It's  also 
associated  with  D.  pulohella  and  seems  to  look  like  a  hybrid  of  D.  nitidula  and 
D.  oaaidentalis ,  but  I  cannot  find  D.  oaaidentalis  in  the  area  as  yet.  It's  easy 
to  grow  in  sand-peat  mix  and  does  not  seem  to  grow  so  well  in  straight  peat.  The 
pot  is  stood  in  water  in  summer.  The  single  white  flower  have  an  unusual  blood- 
red  clubbed  stigma  which  is  very  uncommon  in  this  kind  of  D.  oaaidentalis  group 
which  has  about  3-4  new  species  in  addition  to  the  old  ones. 

"BANNISTER"  PALE  PINK.  A  very  new  species  also  easy  to  grow  in  most  conditions 
even  in  pine  leaf  mold  on  the  edge  of  a  pine  forest  by  the  road's  side.  Found  in 
fairly  damp  creek  sides,  wet  hollows  and  some  remain  growing  all  year  as  others  go 
dormant.  Mine  stand  in  peat-sand  mix  in  water.  Plants  get  a  deep  red  with  nice 
pink  flowers  with  strange  stigmas  that  look  boat-shaped. 

"WALYINGA"  PINK.  These  plants  like  the  dry  conditions  of  D.  playtstigma  but  will 
also  grow  in  sand.  Mine  have  all  gone  dormant  except  2-3  gemmae  forming  plantlets 
late  in  season.  It  needs  a  dry  summer  and  grows  a  nice  metallic  pink  flower  which 
leads  me  to  believe  it's  a  new  species.  I  use  a  sand-peat  mix,  but  it  doesn't 
respond  favorably,  and  many  are  lost. 

ORANGE  FLOWER--"BROOKTON" .  It  may  be  D.  leuaoblasta  but  the  main  difference  is  that 
it  is  underwater  some  time  of  the  year.  This  one  grows  in  a  sand  pit  in  deep  white 
quartz  sand  with  D.  zonavia  and  D .  miniata  as  well  as  in  wetter  places  with 
D.  nitidula.  If  it  is  D.  leuaoblasta ,  then  it  is  the  only  form  so  far  which  will 
cultivate  readily  standing  in  or  out  of  water  or  in  a  variety  of  mixtures.  I  use 
a  sand-peat  mix  and  do  not  stand  in  water  until  established. 

D.  saorpoides.  Found  in  Albany  and  grow  as  D.  nitidula  in  peat  moss  and  sand  mix 
or  chopped  sphagnum.  Plant  them  deep  but  leave  the  plant  above  the  surface  and 
plant  will  find  its  height  of  growth  according  to  moss  growth.  Grow  in  light 
shade  and  needs  patience  to  establish. 

SMALL  PINK — "NORTH  BEERMULLAH" .  This  new  species  is  part  of  the  D.  oaaidentalis 
croup.  The  best  plants  are  grown  in  peat  moss  and/or  sand/peat  mix  standing  in 
water  and  part  shade.  Too  much  sun  will  lead  to  dehydration,  especially  in  W.  A. 
This  species  flowers  freely  and  has  a  small,  single  pink  flower. 

D.  pulahel la — ORANGE  FLOWER.  This  species  is  the  same  as  the  ordinary  one  but 
differs  in  flower  color.  There  are  now  four  color  forms  of  this  species:  dark 
pink,  pale  pink,  apricot  and  orange. 

D.  androsaaea .  This  unusual  species  grows  in  many  areas  and  conditions  of  soil, 
but  it  does  best  in  sandy  loam,  so  use  a  sand/peat  mix  for  cultivation.  It  has 
an  early  dormancy,  and  it's  hard  to  keep  growing,  but  gemmae  plants  may  stay  sticky 
longer  and  may  not  go  completely  dormant.  It's  found  associated  with  D.  pycnoblasta 
and  D.  leuaoblasta. 

SOME  GENERAL  NOTES  ON  PYGMIES 

by  Steve  Rose 

When  trying  to  establish  the  pygmy  Droseras  in  your  collection,  there  are  several 
do's  and  don'ts.  First,  don't  allow  the  plants  to  dry  out  at  all  and  never  give 
them  too  much  sun.  Second,  never  let  them  stand  in  water  unless  they  are  the  swamp 
kinds  like  D.  pulchella,  D.  oaaidentalis ,  white  flower  "Lake  Badgebup,"  small  pink 
"North  Beermullah"  and  D.  nitidula .  Also  pink  flower  "North  Bannister"  and  extra 
large  "Muchea"  pink  can  stand  in  water.  Third,  never  water  with  a  heavy  spray  or 
hose  since  sand  can  splash  onto  the  leaves  of  the  young  plants  and  over-stimulate 
the  leaves  with  loss  of  overall  power  of  the  plant  trying  to  digest  the  sand  as 
well  as  peat  moss.  I  use  a  syringe  and  water  between  the  plants  and  NOT  on  top 
of  them. 


12 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


1  use  fish  tanks  with  lids  and  find  this  to  be  really  good.  Deep  pots  should  be  used 
for  the  sand  and  gravel  growinq  kinds  with  a  minimum  depth  of  about  12  cm.  (about 

5  in.) .  The  swamp  ones  are  planted  in  a  container  with  depth  of  6-8  cm.  (about  3  in.) 
and  standing  in  about  1.5-2  cm.  of  water  (3/4  in) .  I  use  only  deionized  or  distilled 
water  to  prevent  algae  and  scum  build-up  on  the  surface  as  most  pygmies  DO  NOT  grow 
in  mossy  areas  but  in  clean,  washed  gravel  sand  conditions  which  are  even  free  of 
visible  humus. 

Pygmy  Droseras  are  worth  the  fuss  and  experiment.  I  have  some  unusual  cases. 

D.  drummondi  is  growing  in  live  sphagnum  moss  in  water  and  many  seem  to  do  well  in 
sawdust  in  water  or  not  or  in  Pinus  pinaster  leaf  mold  and  sand.  Others  are  in  washed 
river  sand,  in  washed  quartz  gravel  (no  humus)  and  many  in  straight  peat  moss  (sand 
growing  ones) .  Only  a  full  growing  year  can  tell  of  success. 

In  summer  keep  the  plants  shaded  and  humid  except  the  one  from  Manypeaks. 

When  washing  sand,  I  use  ordinary  water  and  wash  until  all  fine  silt  has  gone.  Finally, 
rinse  with  deionized  water  and  then  mix  in  sieved  peat  moss.  My  mixes  are  usually  about 

2  parts  sand  to  one  peat,  or  less  peat  depending  on  species.  I  also  knock  the  pot  on  the 
ground  to  settle  the  contents  so  that  excess  air  is  driven  out.  Then  the  surface  is 
firmed  down  to  bond  the  sand  the  peat  so  that  watering  the  peat  does  not  float  over 

the  tiny  plants. 

Regarding  light,  be  your  own  judge  since  some  prefer  more  shade  than  others,  and  I  pre¬ 
fer  to  have  a  green  D.  pulchella  than  a  dead  red  one.  This  even  happens  in  the  bush. 

When  the  gemmae  buds  come  or  appear,  sow- them  on  a  looser  surface  soil  to  enable  root 
penetration  and  be  careful  not  to  ROT  them.  Some  may  have  to  be  urged  into  the  soil. 
Usually  gemmae  derived  plants  are  stronger  and  cultivate  more  easily  than  collected 
mature  plants  by  far.  Certain  species  may  only  be  cultivated  this  way. 


NOTES  ON  A  TRIP  TO  NORTH  CAROLINA 

by  Les  Kaufman 

I  must  have  been  about  eight  years  old  when  my  father  first  brought  home  a  Venus  fly¬ 
trap,  and  since  that  time  it  had  remained  a  favorite  daydream  to  go  and  see  what  they 
looked  like  in  nature.  Recently  the  dream  was  realized  under  the  aegis  of  science, 
as  I  visited  Beaufort,  North  Carolina,  to  continue  work  on  the  foraging  of  carnivor¬ 
ous  plants.  The  science  will  have  to  wait  until  the  data  has  been  analyzed;  here  I 
wish  to  communicate  my  concern  over  the  plants'  survival  based  on  what  I  saw  in  late 
October,  1976. 

Most  of  my  work  was  concentrated  in  a  triangular  region  bordered  by  US  Routes  24,  70, 
and  Nine  Foot  Road.  Within  this  area,  one  of  the  sites  chosen  for  study  coincided 
with  a  study  area  used  by  Roberts  and  Oosting  in  their  classic  treatment  of  Dionaea 
(1958).  This,  a  small  pocosin  bordered  by  longleaf  pine  and  sandy  savannah,  was 
still  infested  with  Dionaea  twenty  years  after  their  published  work,  and  is  today 
marked  by  a  neat  wooden  marker,  apparently  erected  by  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
The  region  along  Nine  Foot  road  is  peppered  with  sphagnum  dishes,  mud  pans  and  ponds, 
all  inhabited  by  Pinguicula,  Drosera,  and  Utricularia  ssp. ,  but  the  distribution  of 
Dionaea  is  more  closely  related  to  older  drainage  ditches  and  logging  roads  than  to 
its  original  habitat,  the  border  of  pocosin  and  drier  savannah.  Controlled  burning, 
aqainst  a  grid  of  old  ditches  and  pocosin,  will  insure  the  survival  of  this  plant  on 
private  and  protected  lands  in  this  region.  The  private  owners  I  met  were  aware  of 
the  need  to  protect  Dionaea,  and  were  extremely  helpful  in  pointing  out  locations  so 
long  as  I  promised  not  to  dig  the  plants  up  in  large  numbers.  One  nursery  owner  I 
spoke  to,  however,  was  surprised  that  I  was  purchasing  Sphagnum  when  I  could  dig  it 
up  in  the  woods  with  as  many  flytraps  as  I  wanted,  just  as  they  had  been  doing  for 
years.  They  obligingly  directed  me  to  one  of  my  recently  chosen  study  areas,  on 
private  land,  where  they  said  they  "always  went  to  get  them  (flytraps)  for  selling." 

Ranger  Jan  Smith  of  Camp  Sam  Hatcher  was  a  refreshing  new  face.  The  tract  of  land 
he  manages  for  boy  scouts  and  other  camping  groups  is  a  stronghold  for  Dionaea  and 
other  carnivores,  including  Sarraoenia  flava  and  5.  purpurea  venosa.  To  my  surprise, 

I  found  old  ditches  running  through  second-growth  woods  to  be  filled,  not  only  with 
Sphagnum ,  but  with  robust  Dionaea,  many  with  a  strong  tinge  of  red  in  the  traps,  and 
old  withered  flower  scapes  at  their  sides,  all  in  what  seemed  like  deep  shade! 

Roberts  and  Oosting  (1958)  were  of  the  opinion  that  Dionaea  populations  were  viable 
mainly  in  their  restricted  ecotone,  and  that  other  populations  were  peripheral  and 
of  low  reproductive  potential.  I  am  anxious  to  return  to  the  wooded  ditches  in  the 
spring  and  early  summer,  to  estimate  seed  set  in  this  "peripheral"  (but  increasingly 
widespread)  artificial  habitat. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


CPN 


13 


As  I  poked  about  other  potential  CP  sites,  I  made  mental  note  of  the  kinds  of 
disturbances  that  were  going  on,  and  tried  to  guess  their  effects  over  twenty 
or  thirty  years.  Through  some  economic  scenario  that  escapes  me,  mobile  home 
parks  are  sprouting  like  weeds  in  the  middle  of  nowhere.  Medium-sized  tracts 
of  magnificent  savannah  are  being  destroyed  with  no  apparent  long-range  plan¬ 
ning  in  mind. 

One  afternoon  I  was  lucky  enough  to  accompany  an  employee  of  the  Duke  Marine 
Lab  on  a  trip  to  the  Open  Grounds.  This  45,000  acre  tract  of  longleaf  pine 
and  pocosin  is  now  slashed  by  V-shaped  drainage  ditches  approximately  two 
meters  deep,  sometimes  deeper,  cut  through  the  wilderness  to  lower  the  water 
table  in  preparation  for  using  the  land  as  pasture.  After  the  ground  has 
oozed  for  nearly  a  year,  bulldozers  push  the  dying  vegetation  into  long  piles, 
and  the  ground  is  burned  and  limed.  The  scale  of  this  transformation  is  beyond 
belief;  in  the  words  of  one  ranger  at  Croatan,  the  activities  at  the  Open  Grounds 
"look  like  somebody's  garden"  compared  to  two  other  tracts  of  land,  larger  by  an 
order  of  magnitude,  where  the  unique  heathlands  of  North  Carolina  are  also  going 
to  make  more  cows. 

North  of  the  Open  Grounds  is  a  tract  owned  by  a  paper  company.  A  brief  foray  along 
the  edge  of  their  property  revealed  an  abundance  of  Drosera ,  including  some  of  the 
largest  D.  intermedia  I  have  ever  seen.  I  would  guess  that  the  central  regions  of 
the  paper  company's  land  will  retain  a  high  enough  water  table  for  CP's  as  long  as 
the  land  is  under  present  owndership  .  .  .  but  it  was  a  gnawing  question  during  the 
whole  trip:  I  simply  didn't  know  the  fate  of  the  land,  and  my  stomach  turned  at 
the  thought  of  such  a  vast,  unspoiled  wilderness  being  transformed  into  farmland 
without  a  careful  evaluation  of  the  relative  merits  of  agriculture  versus  a  kind  of 
wilderness  that  is  not  duplicated  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  The  night  before  I 
left  to  return  to  Baltimore,  I  was  browsing  through  the  county  library  in  Beaufort 
when  I  came  across  a  book  written  in  1932  by  B.  W.  Wells,  The  Natural  Gardens  of 
North  Carolina  (University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  Chapel  Hill).  Here  was  a 
photograph  of  the  Open  Grounds  at  least  forty  five  years  earlier,  pictures  of 
flowering  pocosin  and  savannah  in  all  seasons,  and  a  small  complex  of  buildings 
representing  an  experimental  agricultural  station.  I  was  struck  by  a  sense  of 
collapsed  time,  and  the  clear  impression  that  Croatan  is  all  that  will  remain  of 
the  coastal  plain  ecosystems  unless  there  is  a  quick  reappraisal  of  priorities. 

Meanwhile,  thousands  of  acres  of  bogland  with  scattered  patches  of  Sarracenia  are 
being  "reborn"  in  another  world.  Perhaps  we  should  obtain  permission  to  explore 
these  areas,  and  collect  those  plants  which  are  valuable  for  scientific  study  and 
esthetic  appreciation  ...  we  should  at  least  get  a  grip  on  the  doomed. 

Literature  Cited 

Patricia  R.  Roberts  and  J.  H.  Oosting,  1958.  Responses  of  Venus  Fly  Trap 

(Dionaea  muscipula)  to  factors  involved  in  its  endemism.  Ecol.  Mongr.  28(2): 
193-218. 

B.  W.  Wells,  1932.  The  Natural  Gardens  of  North  Carolina.  University  of  North 
Carolina  Press,  Chapel  Hill  (1967). 


PROPAGATION  OF  NEPENTHES  BY  LAYERING 

by  Terry  Brokenbro 

Through  personal  correspondence,  I  have  noticed  that  some  CPNers  (including  myself 
at  times)  have  trouble  propagating' Nepenthes  from  cuttings.  During  hot,  sunny  weather 
plants  (cuttings)  and  compost  will  often  dry  out  far  too  quickly  while  at  the  other 
extreme,  the  compost  stays  too  wet  for  too  long  and  so  the  dreaded  rot  sets  in.  There 
fore,  for  those  "heavy  handed"  CPNers  who  have  problems,  the  following  two  propagation 
methods  may  be  of  some  help.  Soil  layering  is  probably  the  more  successful  method 
although  the  air  method  is  best  for  those  with  less  room  available. 

AIR  LAYERING: 

First,  a  mature  branch  (without  formed  pitchers)  is  selected  for  propagation.  A 
section  of  leaves  are  removed  and  the  stem  is  bruised  by  twisting  and/or  cutting  a 
notch  in  it.  This  will  then  reduce  the  sap  flow  and  promote  the  formation  of  roots. 
Rooting  hormone  powder  is  then  applied  to  the  area  and  sphagnum  moos  wrapped  around 
thw  wound  and  a  plastic  bag  applied.  (See  Fig.  la  and  lb)  In  one  or  two  months 
fine  roots  should  then  be  seen  through  the  plastic  bag  which  can  then  be  removed  and 
the  top  plant  section  potted.  This  method  is  often  used  by  professional  nurserymen 
for  the  propagation  of  rubber  plants  (Ficus  elastica)  on  a  large  scale. 


14 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


fid.  Iff 

fit.  18 

/ 

/  /  Sfty+dMM 

/  /  MOSS 

SOIL  LAYERING: 

This  propagation  method  is  similar  to  the  above  method  except  that  it  is  usually  more 
successful  because  not  only  is  the  stem  bruised  but  also  propagated  at  an  angle  thus 
making  rooting  much  more  likely.  A  suitable,  supple  branch  is  selected  which  can  be 
bent  into  an  adjacent  pot  containing  normal  growing  medium  and  without  detaching  from 
the  growing  plant.  (See  Fig.  2)  A  weighted  object  is  then  placed  above  the  bent 
stem  to  hold  it  in  place  and  removed  in  approximately  one  to  two  months.  Test  the 
new  plant  by  gently  lifting  it  with  a  pencil  and  when  roots  are  visible  on  the  damaged 
portion  of  the  stem  allow  the  plant  to  re-establish  itself  by  growing  on  for  two  to 
three  weeks,  when  it  can  be  detached  from  the  parent  plant  and  grown  on  by  itself  in 
the  normal  way. 


ON  THE  FORAGING  STRATEGIES  OF  CARNIVOROUS  PLANTS: 

I.  EVIDENCE  FOR  AN  ADAPTIVE  RESPONSE  TO  LOW  PREY  AVAILABILITY 
IN  THE  VENUS'  FLY  TRAP,  DIONAEA  MUSCIPULA. 

by  Les  Kaufman  and  Mary  Schwarzbeck 

Abstract 

Young  Venus'  Fly  Traps  which  were  protein-starved  produced  significantly  greater 
numbers  of  traps,  and  held  a  greater  proportion  in  operating  condition,  than  plants 
which  were  fed  on  hamburger.  In  nature,  such  a  response  might  increase  the  proba¬ 
bility  of  capturing  prey  when  prey  are  scarce. 

Introduction 

Animals,  by  virtue  of  their  mobility  and  behavioral  capabilities,  can  correct 
deficiencies  in  energy  or  protein  by  looking  for  an  appropriate  source.  Humming¬ 
birds,  for  example,  can  balance  nectar  against  insects;  bees,  nectar  against 
pollen;  humans,  potatoes  and  gravy  against  beef.  Carnivorous  plants  must  also 
face  periodic  variation  in  the  availability  of  protein  in  the  form  of  insect  car¬ 
casses,  and  one  would  expect  selection  for  plants  with  some  way  of  maintaining  a 
balanced  diet.  (By  "balanced  diet"  we  mean  an  optimal  rate  of  acquisition  of 
potential  energy/protein  for  a  given  set  of  circumstances) .  On  the  habitat  scale 
experienced  by  the  tiny  plants  of  the  genus  Dionaea,  prey  availability  is  likely 
to  vary  considerably  from  place  to  place  and  week  to  week  throughout  the  growing 
season.  Presumably,  such  a  plant  might  better  its  chances  of  obtaining  sufficient 


Vol.  VI,  No.  1 


CPN 


15 


nitrogen  for  continued  growth  and  reproduction  by  setting  higher  numbers  of  traps 
where  and  when  prey  are  relatively  depauperate.  In  fact,  it  would  make  good 
sense  for  many  kinds  of  carnivorous  plants  to  be  able  to  vary  the  number  of  func¬ 
tioning  traps  at  any  given  time.  We  therefore  hypothesized  that  if  two  groups  of 
Venus'  Fly  Traps  were  grown  under  identical  conditions,  except  that  one  group 
starved  while  the  other  fed,  the  "hungry"  plants  should  produce  significantly 
higher  numbers  of  traps  per  plant  than  those  that  had  been  fed  regularly.  In 
addition,  we  wished  to  investigate  the  effect  of  shading  on  trap  production  in 
starved  and  fed  plants. 

Materials  and  Methods 

One  hundred  small  bulblets  of  Dionaea  muscipula  were  obtained  from  Peter  Paul's 
Nursery  in  Canandiagua,  New  York.  These  (which,  by  the  way,  arrived  in  excellent 
condition)  were  planted  in  late  May,  1976,  in  an  all-glass  aquarium.  Soil  con¬ 
sisted  mostly  of  dried  sphagnum  cut  with  smaller  amounts  of  perlite  and  fine 
silica  sand,  to  a  depth  of  about  five  centimeters.  The  tank  was  divided  into 
four  quadrants,  two  of  which  (in  opposite  corners)  were  shaded  by  taping  double¬ 
thickness  computer  printout  paper  on  the  tops  and  sides.  After  planting,  the 
tank  was  installed  in  the  University's  greenhouse.  At  the  flip  of  a  quarter,  it 
was  decided  which  plots  would  be  destined  for  feeding  and  which  would  be  starved. 
Most  extraneous  insects  were  kept  out  by  a  glass  cover,  and  would  have  probably 
reached  all  plants  with  frequencies  independent  of  the  experimental  treatments. 

The  experiment  thus  took  the  form  of  a  2  X  2  factorial  analysis-of-variance  with, 
when  terminated  after  six  weeks  by  vandalism,  the  following  numbers  of  replicates: 


Fed 

Not  Fed 

Full  Light 

25 

22 

Shade 

25 

24 

Each  week  for  six  consecutive  weeks  the  numbers  of  traps  in  three  stages  of  devel¬ 
opment  were  tallied  for  every  plant,  as  follows: 

Stage  1:  developing  trap;  spines  not  yet  visible. 

Stage  2:  trap  developed  (spines  distinct)  but  nonoperational 

Stage  3:  trap  fully  developed  and  operational  (will  close  when  stimulated). 

Each  week,  all  open  traps  in  the  groups  designated  for  feeding  were  offered  small 
bits  of  hamburger  and  stimulated  to  close. 

Results 

Some  time  after  the  sixth-week  measurements  were  made,  the  experiment  was  destroyed, 
but  most  of  the  plants  were  rescued  and  are  in  good  condition,  awaiting  repeat  of 
these  experiments. 

A  2  X  2  factorial  analysis-of-variance  (ANOVA) ,  several  one-way  ANOVA's  on  mail 
effects,  and  a  few  nonparametr ic  tests  were  carried  out  on  sixth-week  data.  The 
ANOVA's  are  suspect  because  variances  of  the  four  populations  were  not  homogeneous. 

The  reader  with  a  statistical  background  is  invited  to  readjust  the  data,  as  presented 
in  Table  I,  such  that  all  of  the  basic  assumptions  for  ANOVA  are  met.  The  data  pro¬ 
vided  are  a  random  sample  of  the  entire  populations  yielding  equal  numbers  of  observa¬ 
tions  for  each  treatment  group,  which  vastly  simplifies  many  statistical  calculations. 
We  will  gladly  provide  more  information  to  anyone  wishing  to  play  further  with  our 
results . 

From  our  observations  and  analyses  of  the  data,  we  have  reached  the  following 
tentative  conclusions: 

I.  The  Venus'  Fly  Trap  will  produce  more  traps  when  it  is  starved  than  when 
it  is  fed  (Table  II) . 

II.  The  proportion  of  traps  in  stage  3  (operational)  is  higher  among  starved 
than  among  fed  plants  (Table  III  and  Figure  I) . 

III.  The  differences  between  starved  and  fed  plants  are  partially  obscured 

(though  still  significant)  when  the  plants  are  grown  in  the  shade  (Table  II). 

Discussion 

Our  experiences  in  carrying  out  this  experiment  support  the  a  priori  hypothesis  that 
at  least  one  species  of  carnivorous  plant  varies  the  number  of  set  traps  according 
to  prey  availability.  Further  conclusions  must  wait  for  repetition  of  the  experi¬ 
ment  under  more  rigorously  controlled  conditions  and  over  a  longer  period  of  time. 

The  next  experiment  will  also  include  controlled  reversal  of  treatments.  Many 
readers  may,  however,  have  relevant  data  or  anecdotal  observations  bearing  on  these 
and  related  hypotheses,  and  such  contributions  would  be  most  appreciated. 


16 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


Conclusions 

It  is  possible  that  Dionaea  muscipula  can  balance  its  diet  by  varying  the  number  of 
functional  traps  on  each  plant.  Similar  experiments  to  the  one  described  above 
should  be  carried  out  with  other  carnivorous  plants  that  set  many  small  traps  at 
frequent  intervals  (e.g.,  Drosera  ssp. ,  Utricularia  ssp.,  fungi)  to  seek  patterns 
in  the  "foraging  strategies"  of  these  plants. 

Acknowledgements 

We  thank  Paul  Ringold  for  his  random  quarter,  and  Mel  Sambol  for  his  photography. 
This  research  was  supported  in  part  by  the  Department  of  Earth  and  Planetary 
Sciences,  Johns  Hopkins  University. 


TABLE  I :  Number  of  traps/plant  in  four 
experimental  populations  of 
Dionaea  musciputa. 


TABLE  II:  Mean  numbers  of  traps  per  plants  in 

four  populations  of  Dionaea  muscipula. 

Full  Light  Shade 


Fed 

Plants 

Starved 

Plants 

L'  J 

*3  7 

A  1  R 

Count 

Light 

Shade 

Light 

Shade 

r  ea 

Starved 

7.65 

4.45 

1 

5 

1 

9 

9 

2 

3 

5 

11 

1 

3 

2 

6 

6 

6 

4 

7 

7 

8 

6 

5 

1 

5 

5 

4 

6 

7 

4 

9 

3 

7 

6 

5 

6 

3 

. 

8 

3 

5 

7 

4 

9 

3 

6 

8 

5 

10 

2 

6 

0 

3 

TABLE  III:  Proportions  of 

traps  in  three  stage: 

11 

4 

5 

8 

5 

of  development. 

12 

5 

3 

7 

5 

13 

4 

0 

8 

7 

Stage  1 

Stage  2 

Stage  3 

14 

5 

6 

10 

7 

Fed  in  Light  21% 

21% 

58% 

15 

0 

5 

12 

7 

Fed  in  Shade  18% 

24% 

58% 

16 

2 

0 

9 

4 

Starved  in  Light  13% 

10% 

77% 

17 

4 

7 

8 

0 

Starved  in  Shade  18% 

14% 

78% 

18 

1 

0 

7 

7 

19 

3 

0 

7 

2 

20 

7 

7 

8 

1 

%  traps 
in 

Stage  3 


Figure  1:  Proportion  of  traps  in  Staqe  3  (fully 
operational)  in  two  populations  of 
Dionaea  muscipula ,  over  six  weeks. 

•  (lower  curve)  Fed  in  Full  Light 

^  (upper  curve)  Starved  in  Full  Light 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


CPN 


17 


BOTANIST'S  CORNER 


"Confound  it!  Another  plant  name  change.  No  sooner 
do  I  learn  a  plant's  scientific  name  than  those  botanists 
have  to  go  and  change  it.  Why  do  they  do  it?" 

This  seems  to  be  a  common  situation  for  laymen  who 
are  seriously  interested  in  plants  and  who  make  an  effort 
to  learn  their  Latin  names.  Indeed,  to  many  people  the 
mere  thought  of  hearing,  much  less  learning,  a  long  Latin 
name  is  enough  to  make  them  lose  confidence,  and  interest. 
While  it  may  be  true  that  some  Latin  names  are  long  and 
seemingly  unpronounceable,  there  are  quite  a  few  with 
which  we  have  become  relatively  comfortable  as  common 
names,  such  as  Rhododendron  and  Chrysanthemum.  I  must 
admit  that  even  I  have  had  some  trouble  pronouncing  and 
getting  used  to  such  carnivorous  plant  names  as  Poly- 
pompholyx I 

Many  laymen  would  prefer  to  stick  with  common  names 
for  all  plants  which  they  encounter,  and  this  may  suffice 
in  many  instances  where  the  common  names  and  the  plants 
are  unambiguous.  Such  may  be  the  case  when  referring  to 
Utricularia  as  bladderworts .  However,  this  brings  us  to 
one  of  the  real  reasons  for  writing  this  article,  and  one 
of  the  most  belabored  topics  in  botany  with  which  laymen 
and  professionals  alike  are  constantly  confronted.  That  is,  the  fact  that  common  names 
are  most  often  not  precise  enough  to  specify  the  exact  plant  to  which  you  may  be  refer¬ 
ring,  at  all  times  and  all  places.  Because  they  are  products  of  local  usage  and  folk 
taxonomy,  several  common  names  may  have  originated  which  refer  to  the  same  plant  in 
different  parts  of  the  country;  the  same  common  name  may  equally  be  applied  to  different 
plants  in  different  regions.  A  familiar  example  which  would  encompass  both  situations 
just  mentioned  would  be  the  common  name  for  the  genus  Sarraoenia :  Pitcher  Plants, 
Trumpets,  Fly-traps,  Huntsmen's  horns.  Bog-bugles,  Dumb-watches ,  Watches,  Eve's  Cups, 
and  Buttercups.  Depending  on  which  common  name  you  use,  you  may  or  may  not  have  a 
clear  idea  of  what  is  being  referred  to;  believe  me,  you  may  just  run  into  any  or  all 
of  these  names  if  you  talk  with  country  folks  in  the  regions  where  these  plants  grow. 

As  you  may  know.  Buttercups  are  generally  members  of  the  genus  Ranunculus  (related  to 
larkspur  and  clematis);  but  they  may  also  be  members  of  the  genus  Narcissus ,  and  may 
be  called  Daffodils.  Fly-traps  may,  of  course,  be  referring  to  Dionaea ,  Venus'  Fly-trap. 
You  see  how  confusing  it  can  become.  Of  course,  common  names  will  always  be  used,  and  I 
am  definitely  not  against  them  (because  they  are  colorful  and  usually  descriptive) ;  but 
we  must  recognize  their  limitations  and  try  to  understand  that  scientific  names  should 
be  used  in  conjunction  with  common  names,  especially  in  writing,  in  order  to  avoid 
ambiguity  and  misleading  information. 

Now  that  we  know  that  the  exclusive  use  of  common  names  can  lead  to  confusion,  let 
us  qo  back  and  examine  the  purpose  for  names  in  the  first  place.  The  purpose  of  a  name, 
any  kind  of  name,  is  to  facilitate  communication,  to  aid  in  talking  and  writing  about 
something.  It  allows  us  to  refer  to  a  specific  thing  without  having  to  go  through  a 
long  description.  It  seems  logical,  then,  that  for  a  name  to  fulfil  its  designated  use, 
it  must  apply  to  only  one  object,  no  matter  who  uses  the  name,  and  conversely,  that 
object  must  have  only  one  name.  Thus  it  is  with  scientific  names,  which  enable  us  to 
track  down  all  available  information  about  the  plants  we  may  be  interested  in.  In  order 
that  scientific  names  may  be  made  and  used  correctly,  the  International  Code  of  Botanical 
Nomenclature  (ICBN),  which  should  be  accepted  and  followed  by  all  legitimate  botanists 
and  laymen  the  world  over,  sets  forth  the  rules  which  govern  the  formation  and  usage  of 
all  scientific  names  of  plants  (except  strictly  cultivated  plants,  which  have  a  separate 
code) .  This  should  lead  to  a  certain  degree  of  uniformity  and  stability. 

A  little  bit  more  background  might  be  appreciated  before  we  get  on  to  our  main 
concern  of  name  chanqes.  Scientific  names  are,  of  course,  in  Latin.  This  is  speci¬ 
fied  by  the  Code  and  must  be  used  the  world  over  no  matter  what  other  languages  or 
alphabets  are  used  (this  is  because  Latin  was  the  language  of  European  scholars 
during  the  1600-1700's  when  botany  was  becoming  a  formal  science).  Thus,  we  would  be 
able  to  recoqnize  the  Latin  name  of  a  plant  in  a  book  written  in  Chinese,  Japanese  or 
Russian,  even  though  the  rest  of  the  text  would  be  in  an  unfamiliar  language  and 
alphabet.  Just  think  about  the  poor  Japanese  botanist  who  not  only  has  to  learn  some 
Latin  grammar  and  meanings,  but  who  also  has  to  learn  the  Roman  alphabet  with  which 
we  are  automatically  familiar! 

As  a  result  of  our  acceptance  of  the  binomial  ("two  name")  system  of  nomenclature 
developed  by  the  very  famous  and  important  Swedish  botanist  Linnaeus  (1707-1778),  the 
scientific  names  of  plants  consist  of  basically  two  words,  the  genus  name  and  the 


18 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


specific  epithet  (often  erroneously  called  the  species  name) .  For  example,  the  scien¬ 
tific  name  of  yellow  pitcher  plant  is  Sarracenia  flava  (Latin  names  are  always  itali¬ 
cized  in  print,  or  underlined  in  writing  and  typing).  Sarracenia  is  the  genus,  or 
generic  name;  flava  is  the  specific  epithet,  and  grammatically  it  is  an  adjective 
modifying  the  generic  name.  Sarracenia  flava  is  thus  the  name  of  the  species,  or  one 
particular  type  of  the  several  pitcher  plant  types  in  the  genus  Sarracenia .  The 
species  name,  which  may  be  abbreviated  S.  flava,  is  made  up  of  a  combination  of  the 
generic  name  and  the  specific  epithet.  (The  family  name,  the  category  to  which  genera 
belong,  in  this  case  would  be  the  Sarraceniaceae ,  or  pitcher  plant  family.  It  is 
analogous  to  the  Smith  family,  with  its  members  Smith,  John;  Smith,  Judy;  and  Smith, 
Johnny  analogous  to  the  scientific  name  Sarracenia  flava) .  Hopefully  both  parts  of 
the  scientific  name  will  convey  some  useful  or  interesting  information  about  the  plant 
it  represents  to  help  make  it  easier  to  remember.  In  this  case,  Sarracenia  is  the 
Latinized  form  of  the  man's  name,  Sarrazin,  who  first  discovered  the  purple  pitcher 
plants  in  Quebec  about  1700;  flava  (correctly  pronounced  fla'-va,  both  a's  as  in  car) 
is  Latin  for  yellow.  There  are  rules  for  Latin  pronunciation,  but  they  are  sometimes 
disregarded  in  favor  of  personal  preference.  In  general  every  letter  and  every  sylla¬ 
ble  is  enunciated,  with  emphasis  on  the  third  from  the  last  syllable.  For  additional 
information  on  the  meanings  of  the  scientific  names  of  some  CP's  see  Don  Schnell's  new 
book  on  the  CP  of  US  and  Canada. 

In  some  cases  species  may  be  broken  down  into  subcategories  which  may  be  desig¬ 
nated  as  subspecies,  variety,  or  form;  and  a  certain  plant  may  thus  have  a  name 
consisting  of  three  parts,  such  as  Sarracenia  purpurea  subspecies  (abbr.  ssp.)  venosa, 
the  southern  counterpart  to  the  northern  S.  purpurea  ssp.  purpurea.  In  this  case,  the 
species  S.  purpurea  is  considered  by  many  to  contain  two  recognizably  different  types. 
While  I  personally  believe  that  these  additional  categories  have  specifically  defined 
applications,  their  use  can  be  quite  controversial,  arbitrarily  applied,  and  otherwise 
questionable  because  the  rules  do  not  govern  their  exact  application;  but  they  do 
exist  among  CP  names,  and  you  will  run  across  them  constantly. 

We  will  not  go  further  into  the  intricacies  of  the  Code  as  it  applies  to  the 
definitions  of  names.  For  an  excellent  discussion  of  this  subject  see  C.  Jeffrey, 

1968.  An  Introduction  to  Plant  Taxonomy ,  esp.  Pp.  62-93. 

REVIEW  OF  RECENT  LITERATURE 

Anon.  (We  would  be,  tool)  1976.  Venus  Flytraps.  Science  Digest,  Dec.,  p.  81-2. 

This  is  the  sort  of  few  paragraphs  one  should  avoid  and  is  herein  reviewed  as 
such.  Typical  of  most  of  the  "Digest"  type  magazines,  and  in  an  effort  to  be 
"cutesy,"  the  paragraphs  are  full  of  misinformation  and  misguidance  for  those 
who  are  likely  misguided  already.  One  gains  the  impression  that  the  plant  trots 
about  the  house  like  the  family  cat,  fending  off  vermin.  One  also  learns  that 
when  he  goes  on  vacation,  he  should  simply  put  his  plant  in  the  refrigerator. 

One  also  wonders  if  he  or  she  should  be  angry  or  just  sad  over  this  sort  of 
trash . 

Berglund,  E.  R.  &  A.  C.  Mace,  Jr.  Diurnal  albedo  variations  of  black  spruce  and 
sphagnum-sedge  bogs.  Can.  Jour.  For.  Res.  6 (3) : 247-252 .  1976. 

Light  measurements  on  two  types  of  bogs  were  taken  in  northern  Minnesota,  USA. 

The  black  spruce  stand's  diurnal  albedo  was  parabolic  with  a  maximum  at  1200  h 
(7-8%)  and  decreased.  Greatest  variation  was  in  the  summer  months.  The  sphagnum- 
sedge  type  bog  showed  a  M-shaped  diurnal  variation  with  minimum  at  1200  h  between 
two  maxima.  Maxima  occurred  as  a  result  of  specular  reflection  and  changes  in 
solar  radiation  quality. 

Carlquist,  S.  Wood  anatomy  of  Roridulaceae :  Ecological  and  Phylogenetic  implications. 
Am.  J.  Bot.  63  (7)  :  1003-8  .  1976  . 

The  wood  anatomy  of  Roridula  (a  non-carnivorous  plant)  is  compared  to  Byblis  and 
found  to  have  very  similar  secondary  xylem  features.  The  author  feels  it  should 
be  excluded  from  Droseraceae . 

Chandler,  G.  E.  &  J.  W.  Anderson.  Studies  on  the  nutrition  and  growth  of  Drosera 
species  with  reference  to  the  carnivorous  habit.  New  Phytol.  76  (1) : 129-41 . 

1976. 

Drosera  whittakeri  was  grown  on  sand  with  inorganic  salt  solutions  lacking 
either  nitrogen,  sulfur,  phosphorus  or  microelements.  Application  of  fruit 
flies  to  the  leaves  were  applied  to  plants  growing  on  media  deficient  in  P  or 
microelements,  there  was  no  effect  on  growth  but  the  phosphorus  content  of  the 
plant  increased  significantly.  Insects  could  not  serve  as  a  carbon  source  for 
photosynthesis.  The  best  growth  of  D.  binata  and  D.  whittakeri  occurred  on 
plants  fed  fruit  flies  while  growing  in  a  nitrogen  deficient  medium.  Nitrates 
in  the  nutrient  medium  inhibited  growth.  Optimum  growth  of  these  Droseras  was 
not  achieved  by  growing  plants  on  complete  nutrient  solution  in  the  absence  of 
insects.  Phosphorus  was  very  important  in  the  tuberous  Drosera  both  for  early 
emergence  and  for  development  of  new  rhizomes  on  which  new  tubers  formed. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


CPN 


19 


Chandler,  G.  E.  &  J.  W.  Anderson.  Studies  on  the  origin  of  some  hydrolytic  enzymes 
associated  with  leaves  and  tentacles  of  Drosera  species  and  their  role  in 
heterotrophic  nutrition.  New  Phytol.  TV  (1)  :51-62.  1976. 

Extracts  of  the  leaves  of  Drosera  whittakeri ,  binata  and  auriculata  had  protease 
activity  over  a  very  wide  range  of  pH  optima.  These  were  taken  from  field 
plants.  However,  only  distinct  pH  optimum  of  proteinase  activity  (pH  2.6)  was 
determined  in  the  sterile  axenic  cultures  of  D.  binata.  Many  bacteria  associ¬ 
ated  with  field-grown  plants  were  found  to  secrete  many  of  the  proteinases 
with  acid  pH  optima.  The  authors  concluded  that  microbial  enzymes  play  a  signif¬ 
icant  role  in  the  digestion  process  of  captured  insects. 

Fish,  D.  Insect-plant  relationships  of  the  insectivorous  pitcher  plant  Sarraoenia 
minor.  Fla.  Entomol.  59  ( 2 )  :  19 9-203 .  1976. 

The  noctuid  moth,  Exyra  semicrooea ,  damaged  66%  of  the  80  plants  studied  render¬ 
ing  them  non-functional.  Young  larva  were  present  in  22.5%  of  the  remaining 
functional  leaves.  In  addition,  the  sarcophagid  Blaesoxipha  jonesii  were  present 
in  64%  of  the  leaves  and  consumed  as  much  as  50%  of  the  plant's  prey.  However, 
the  author  noted  that  90%  of  the  leaves  captured  ants  and  S.  minor  may  be 
specialized  in  doing  so. 

Hayakawa,  M.  Sources  of  seed.  Pacific  Horticulture  37,  No.  4:54-7.  1976. 

The  author  provides  a  listing  of  Societies  and  collectors  where  rare  and  wild 
seed  of  a  variety  of  plants  may  be  found.  Included  in  the  list  is  our  own  CPN 
seed  exchange. 

Heslop-Harrison ,  Y.  1976.  Carnivorous  plants  a  century  after  Darwin.  Endeavor 
35:114-22. 

An  excellent  historical  review  of  CP  glandular  anatomy  and  physiology  with 
particular  emphasis  on  enzyme  secretion  studies.  Twenty  figures. 

Kondo,  K.  A  cy totaxonomic  study  in  some  species  of  Drosera.  Rhodora  78 { 815)  : 

532-41.  1976. 

The  chromosome  numbers  of  six  species  of  Drosera  are  reported  for  the  first 
time.  The  2N  number  of  the  Drosera  species  are:  ouneif  olia  =  2>2 ,  gigantea=  28, 
hamiltonii= 28,  petiolaris- 12,  adelae=2S ,  Kanto  spathulata= 40,  and  Yakushima 
spathulata= 40.  Drosera  petiolaris  showed  the  largest  chromosomes  ever  seen 
in  the  genus  Drosera  and  has  the  lowest  number. 

Sawyer,  J.  0.  Preservation  of  Rare  and  Endangered  Plants.  Pacific  Horticulture 
35(1)  :  56-7  .  1977 . 

Some  700  species  of  California's  plant  species  representing  about  10%  of  the 
total  state's  flora  are  listed  as  rare  or  endangered.  The  author  urges  citizens 
to  be  aware  of  this  problem.  Darlingtonia  calif ornica  is  mentioned  as  a  plant 
that  is  endangered  because  of  commercial  exploitation. 

Schnell,  D.  E.  1976.  Carnivorous  plants  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  John 
F.  Blair  Publisher  (1406  Plaza  Dr.  SW,  Winston-Salem,  NC  27103) ,  125  p.  + 
ix,  117  color  photos  +  drawings  and  maps.  $19.95  (+  .35  postage). 

Complete  coverage  of  CP  in  the  area,  including  117  photos  in  full  color. 

Discussion  covers  basic  biology,  identifying  descriptions,  ranges,  specific 
facts  about  each  species,  and  a  chapter  on  cultivation.  Glossary  and  defini¬ 
tions  of  scientific  names  in  appendix. 

Schnell,  D.  E.  1976.  You  catch  more  bugs  with  a  sundew.  Plants  Alive  4:14-5. 

A  short  popular  article  very  ge-nerally  describing  Droseras  and  their  culture. 

Four  black  and  white  photos. 

Siddiqui,  S.  A.  Studies  in  the  Lentibulariaoeae :  7.  The  development  of  endosperm 
and  embryo  in  Utricularea  coerulea  var.  filiaaulis  Clarke.  Bot.  Not. 

128  (4)  :  4  32-7  .  1975  . 

The  first  division  of  the  primary  endosperm  cell  is  transverse.  Next,  the 
division  in  both  primary  cells  is  longitudinal  and  walls  laid  down  are  complete. 
After  this,  the  author  observed  considerable  variations  in  the  plane  and  early 
cell  divisions  in  the  development  of  the  endosperm.  The  mature  embryo  differ¬ 
entiates  only  into  epidermis  and  its  meristematic  apical  region. 

Swenson,  Allan  A.  1977.  Cultivating  Carnivorous  Plants.  Doubleday  &  Co.,  Inc. 
Publisher  (Garden  City,  New  York),  152  p.  +  B&W  photos. 

This  book  describes  the  culture,  and  care  of  various  genera  of  carnivorous  plants. 
Furthermore,  it  describes  experiments  and  informs  the  reader  on  organizations, 
periodicals  and  locations  of  plant  displays.  Finally,  it  reproduces  the  CPN  World 
Listing  of  CP  at  the  end  of  the  book.  One  of  the  faults  that  the  author  gets  into 
is  the  confusion  of  Sarraoenia  leucophylla  (the  preferred  name)  and  S.  drummondi 
which  he  seems  to  use  interchangeably.  To  less  extent,  he  uses  S.  sledgei  for  the 
preferred  name  S.  alata.  Despite  this,  the  book  will  be  another  useful  informa¬ 
tion  source  for  the  amateur  CP  grower. 


20 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


Wallace,  R.  L.  Distribution  of  sessile  rotifers  in  an  acid  bog  pond  with  particular 
emphasis  on  Ptyguva  beauahampi  (Edmondson).  Ph.D.  dissertation,  Dartmouth 
College,  June,  1975. 

One  plant,  Utricularia  vulgavis ,  because  of  its  unique  relationship  with  the 
sessile  rotifer  Ptygura  beauohampi  was  studied  in  more  detail.  Prey  captured 
by  this  carnivorous  macrophyte  were  studied  by  dissecting  and  examining  the 
prey-capturing  organs  for  recognizable  prey  remains.  Three  distinct  prey  captur¬ 
ing  organs  distinguished  by  differences  in  size,  morphology,  and  leaf  position, 
were  found  on  each  leaf  whorl.  For  convenience  they  were  designated  large,  small, 
and  stem  bladders.  An  analysis  showed  that  the  prey  captured  differed  between 
trap  types  with  regards  to  size  and  type.  Widths  of  bladder  trap  doors  were 
shown  to  be  correlated  to  prey  lengths  in  large  (p  <  0.05)  and  small  (p  <  0.001) 
but  not  in  stem  bladders.  Cladevoaeva  were  the  most  abundant  prey  type  (>50%) 
in  all  three  bladder  types.  Analyses  of  prey  size  showed  that  all  prey  caught 
by  each  bladder  type  were  different  in  size  (p  <  0.001;  large  >  stem  >  small). 
Cladoceva  caught  by  small  and  stem  bladders  were  equal  in  size  (p  =  0.55) ,  but 
those  caught  by  large  bladders  were  shown  to  be  large  (p  <  0.001).  Glandular 
trichomes  present  on  each  of  the  three  bladder  types  were  described.  They  undergo 
a  developmental  sequence  which  culminates  in  a  bacterially  colonized  corona  of 
mucilage  surrounding  the  bulbous  head  cell. 

A  detailed  analysis  of  the  adult  substrate  distribution  and  larval  site  selection 
activities  of  P.  beauahampi  were  undertaken.  This  sessile  rotifer  was  found  to 
be  limited  to  the  vestibular  or  trap  door  region  of  the  large  bladder  of  U.  vul¬ 
gavis,  although  four  other  congeneric  species  were  present.  The  presence  or 
absence  of  captured  prey  was  unimportant  to  adult  distribution.  Larval  selection 
experiments  confirmed  these  field  observations.  Observations  were  made  on  larvae 
of  known  ages.  Five  age  classes  were  described  in  which  morphology,  swimming 
behavior  and  speed,  reaction  to  substrates,  and  probability  of  settling  all 
differ.  Larvae  undergo  characteristic  behavioral  movements  when  encountering 
U.  vulgavis  large  bladder  vestibules.  They  will  attach  to  the  substrate  then 
bend  over  from  the  point  of  attachment,  touch  the  substrate,  straighten  up  and 
repeat  the  process  again  and  again,  advancing  to  the  left  or  right  and  eventually 
circumscribing  a  circle.  Glandular  trichomes  which  have  attained  a  certain  stage 
of  development  stimulate  larvae  to  settle.  A  hypothetical  mechanism  for  larval 
substrate  selection  is  presented,  and  the  supportive  evidence  is  discussed. 

Larval  site  selection  activity  including  the  behavioral  movements,  permanent 
attachment  and  metamorphosis,  is  begun  when  larvae  tactually  sense  a  stimulus 
unique  to  U.  vulgavis  large  bladders.  This  stimulus  is  relatively  stable  and  of 
plant  and  not  bacterial  origin.  It  is  associated  with  glandular  trichomes  which 
have  attained  a  certain  developmental  state.  Characteristic  of  this  stage  is 
the  formation  of  a  bacterial-mucilage  complex.  However,  the  mucilage  is  not  the 
source  of  the  larval  settling  stimulus.  The  stimulus  may  be  chemical  in  nature 
arising  from  the  head  cell  of  the  glandular  trichome. 

Woelkerling,  W.  J.  Wisconsin  desmids:  I  Aufwuchs  and  plankton  communities  of  selected 
acid  bogs,  alkaline  bogs,  and  closed  bogs.  Hydrobiologica  4 8  ( 3 )  :  209-32  .  1976  . 

The  greatest  diversity  of  the  plankton  community  at  a  given  site  occurred  in 
association  with  the  macrophyte  host  Utviculavia .  The  author  discusses  the  rela¬ 
tionships  between  the  occurrence  of  desmid  genera  and  parameters  of  the  chemical 
environment  among  the  28  acid  bogs,  5  alkaline  bogs  and  12  closed  bogs  found  in 
the  state. 


Zahl,  P.  A.  Southwest  Australia's  wild  gardens:  Bizarre  and  beautiful.  Nat. 
Geoqraphic  150,  No.  6:858-68.  1976. 

This  article  describes  some  plant  species  which  have  developed  some  strange  and 
beautiful  adaptations  to  the  harsh  environment.  Included  in  the  list  of 
described  species  are  Cephalotus  folliculavis  (a  splendid  photo!),  Dvoseva 
pulahella  and  Dvoseva  platypoda. 


SOURCES 

We  are  offering  an  update  of  the  annual  list  of  carnivorous  plant  commercial  sources. 
It  is  our  experience  that  spring  is  the  best  season  to  order  these  plants.  We  do  not 
endorse  any  of  these  sources.  Those  sources  who  have  volunteered  a  letter  stating 
that  all  stock  is  propagated  rather  than  scavenged  from  the  field,  are  listed  first 
and  marked  ( *) . 


Name  and  Address 


Catalogue 


Geneva 


SUN  DEW  ENVIRONMENTS  * 
P.O.  Box  111 
Denver,  NY  12421 


50C  Dionaea,  Drosera, 

Sarracenia,  Pinguicula, 
Darlingtonia ,  Utricularia 


WORLD  INSECTIVOROUS  PLANTS  *  Self-addressed 
Rt.  1,  Box  338S  stamped  envelope 

Arroye  Grande,  CA  93420  or  25C 


Dionaea,  Drosera, 
Utricularia , 
Byblis  liniflora 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 

CPN 

-  21 

Carolina  Exotic  Gardens 

Box  1492 

Greenville,  NC  27834 

25C 

Sarracenia,  Dari ingtonia , 
Dionaea 

Peter  Paul  Nurseries 

Darcey  Road 

Canandaigua,  NY  14424 

25C 

Dionaea,  Drosera, 

Sarracenia,  Pinguicula, 
Darlingtonia ,  Utricularia, 
Nepenthes  seed 

Armstrong  Associates,  Inc. 

Box  94 

Kennebunk,  ME  04043 

250 

Dionaea,  Drosera, 

Sarracenia,  Pinguicula 
Darlingtonia 

Arthur  E.  Allgrove 

North  Wilmington,  MA  01887 

250 

Dionaea,  Sarracenia, 
Pinguicula,  Drosera, 
Darlingtonia 

Insectivorous  Botanical  Garden 

P.  0.  Box  5 

Hampstead,  NC  28443 

250 

Dionaea,  Drosera, 

Sarracenia,  Darlingtonia, 
Pinguicula 

Edelweis  Gardens 

54  Robbinsville-Allentown  Road 
Robbinsville ,  NJ  08691 

350 

Dionaea,  Drosera, 

Sarracenia,  Darlingtonia 
Nepenthes 

Tote  Em  in  Zoo 

Route  2,  Box  368 

Wilmington,  NC  28401 

250 

Drosera,  Sarracenia, 
Pinguicula  (Sells  in 
large  quantities  only) 

Marcel  Lecoufle 

5  Rue  de  Paris 

94470  Boissy-Saint-Leger ,  France 

Inquire 

Drosera,  Dionaea, 

Sarracenia,  Nepenthes, 
Darlingtonia,  Pinguicula 

Harold  Welsh 

Black  Copper  Kits 

266  Kipp  Street 

Hackensack,  NJ  07601 

250 

Dionaea,  Drosera, 

Sarracenia,  Darlingtonia 

A  FEW  REFERENCE  BOOKS  (Not  available  through  CPN.  Order  direct  from  publisher  or 
your  local  bookshop.)  *  =  Book  intended  primarily  for  children. 


Title 

Author 

Publisher 

Source  -  Cost 

Insectivorous  Plants 

Charles  Darwin 

John  Murray 

2nd  Hand  Bookstores 

Plants  of  Prey  in 
Australia 

Rica  Erickson 

Univ.  of  W.A. 

Press  1968 

Inter.  Scholarly 

Book  Services 

2130  Pacific  Ave . 
Forest  Grove,  OR  97116 
$10.00  postpaid 

Carnivorous  Plants 

F.  E.  Lloyd 

Chronica  Botanica 
1942  &  Dover  Pub. 

2nd  Hand  Bookstores 
Soft  Cover  (1976) 

Carnivorous  Plants 

Randall  Schwartz 

Praeger  Publishers 
1974 

111  4th  Ave.,  New  York 
NY  10003  $6.95 

Carnivorous  Plants 

Randall  Schwartz 

Avon  Books  (soft 
cover)  1975 

959  Eighth  Avenue,  New 
York,  NY  10019  $1.25 

Carnivorous  Plants 

Anabel  Dean 

Lerner  Publications 
1975 

241  First  Avenue 
Minneapolis,  MN  55401 
$3.95 

The  World  of 
Carnivorous  Plants 

J.  and  P. 
Pietropaolo 

R.  J.  Stoneridge 

1974 

Peter  Pauls  Nurseries 
$6.30 

Insect-Eating  Plants 

*  L.  and  G.  Poole 

T.  Y.  Crowell 

1963 

666  Fifth  Avenue 

New  York,  NY  10003 
$4.50 

Carnivorous  Plants  * 

John  F.  Waters 

Franklin  Watts, 

Inc.  1974 

845  Third  Avenue, 

New  York,  NY  10022 
$3 . 90 

22 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  1 


Plants  that 
Animals  * 

Eat 

Linda  Bentley 

McGraw-Hill  Book 
Company  1968 

1221  Ave .  of 
New  York,  NY 
$4.72 

Americas 

10036 

CP  of  the  U. 
Canada 

. S.  and 

D.  E.  Schnell 

John  F.  Blair, 
Publisher  1976 

1406  Plaza  Dr 
Winston-Salem 
$19.95  (+35C 

■.  SW 

i,  NC  27103 
postage) 

Cultivating 

Carnivorous 

Plants 

Allen  Swenson 

Doubleday  &  Co. 

1977 

Garden  City, 
$7.95 

NY  11535 

The  following  CP  books  mentioned  in  our  listing  can  be  purchased  from  B.  Dalton, 
Bookseller,  303  B  Tanforan  Park,  El  Camino  Real  &  Sneath  Ln.,  San  Bruno,  CA  94066. 
Attn:  Chuck. 

Carnivorous  Plants — Randall  Schwartz.  $6.95  hardcover  (1974),  $1.25  paperback 
(1974) 

Cultivating  Carnivorous  Plants — Allen  Swenson.  $7.95  (1977) 

Carnivorous  Plants — Donald  Schnell.  $20.00  (1976) 

Carnivorous  Plants--F.  E.  Lloyd.  $4.50  (1976) 

These  books  can  be  mailed  anywhere  for  a  handling  fee  of  75C.  California  residents 
should  add  sales  tax. 

International  Bookfinders  are  the  people  to  contact  as  a  source  of  books  that  are 
out  of  print.  They  circulate  a  newsletter  around  the  country  to  used  book  stores 
listing  books  that  are  being  sought.  When  they  locate  the  book,  they  contact  you 
with  price  information  plus  their  service  fee.  You  are  not  obligated  to  buy  the 
book  if  the  price  is  too  excessive  for  you.  They  are  a  reputable  firm.  The  address: 

International  Bookfinders,  Inc. 

P.  O.  Box  1 

Pacific  Palisades,  CA  90272 


THE  CPN  SHOP 

We  are  providing  CPN  members  the  privilege  of  ordering  CP  books  published  in  Japan. 
They  are  written  in  Japanese,  but  many  of  them  are  generously  interspersed  with 
excellent  pictures  both  in  color  and  B&W.  Books  that  we  offered  in  the  past  are 
now  sold  out  or  out  of  print.  So,  while  a  limited  supply  lasts,  we  offer  the 
following  books  at  prices  that  include  all  postage  (overseas  and  domestic) .  Please 
send  your  check  or  money  order  to  J.  Mazrimas  before  April  20,  1977.  Expect  a  delay 
of  two  or  three  months  before  you  receive  the  books  you  ordered.  All  books  sent  by 
surface  mail. 


Author 

Title 

Pages 

Price 

Shimizu 

The  Mystery  of  Carnivorous  Plants 

54 

3 . 50 

Suzuki 

Insectivorous  Plants  (Cult,  and  Coll.) 

168 

2.50 

Aldrovanda  vesiculosa  at  Hanyu-City 

32 

5.25 

Rondo 

Carnivorous  Plants 

292 

8 . 50 

Komiya 

Syst.  Studies  on  Lentibular iaceae  (Eng.) 

124 

10.50 

Kurata,  S. 

Nepenthes  of  Mt.  Kinabalu  (Eng.) 

80 

5.00 

OTHER  ITEMS  FOR  SALE 

WORLD  LIST  OF  CARNIVOROUS  PLANTS.  An  updated  list  of  all  species  with  synonymy 
and  native  areas  mentioned.  While  based  broadly  in  Index  Kewensis,  many  refer¬ 
ences  and  experts  were  consulted  during  the  task  of  preparing  this  worldwide  listing. 
Limited  Supply - 60t  postpaid  surface,  $1.20  air  overseas. 

THE  1976  CPN  SUBSCRIBER  LISTING.  A  current  listing  of  1976  CPN  members  arranged 
according  to  country  and  zip  code  rather  than  in  alphabetical  order.  Limited  number 
of  copies  left - $1.00  postpaid  surface,  $2.00  air  overseas. 

To  order  any  of  the  above  items,  send  payment  to  J.  A.  Mazrimas,  329  Helen  Way, 
Livermore,  CA  94550. 


We  wish  to  thank  Chris  Sowers ,  a  graduate  student  at  UNCE,  for  the  Botanist's 
Corner  and  Want  Ads  logos. 


PLEASE  PRINT  CLEARLY.  CIRCLE 
CORRECT  LETTER  BEFORE  EACH  ITEM. 


NAME 

STREET _ 

CITY  &  ZIP 


w 

T 

S 

B 

1) 

w 

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S 

B 

2) 

w 

T 

s 

B 

3) 

w 

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s 

B 

4) 

w 

T 

s 

B 

5) 

w 

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s 

B 

6) 

w 

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s 

B 

7) 

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s 

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8) 

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9) 

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10) 

Make  checks  or  money  orders  payable 
to  the  ARBORETUM  FOUNDATION  FUND. 


WANT  ADS 

Above  is  a  standardized  form  for  submitting  your  want  ads.  There  is  a  charge 
of  ten  cents  per  numbered  item  with  a  limit  of  10  items  per  person  per  issue 
of  CPN  or  one  dollar  maximum.  Also,  you  see  four  letters  before  each  item 
which  stands  for  Want,  Trade,  Sell  or  Buy.  Please  print  all  information 
clearly  for  best  results  and  to  eliminate  mistakes.  The  Want  Ads  are  limited 
to  carnivorous  plants,  terrariums,  greenhouses,  and  moss. 

Send  coin  or  check  along  with  the  form  to:  Arboretum,  Want  Ads 

California  State  University 
Fullerton,  CA  92634 

All  funds  derived  from  this  department  will  go  for  costs  of  an  extra  large 
issue  of  CPN  or  more  pictures.  So  support  your  CPN! 


SPECIAL  NOTICE 

Please  be  sure  to  note  that  the  address  for  both  the  reprints  of  back  issues 
of  CPN  and  subscriptions  are  the  same.  Checks  should  be  made  payable  to 
ARBORETUM  FOUNDATION  FUND  in  both  cases. 

The  co-editors  of  CPN  would  like  everyone  to  pay  particular  attention  to 
the  following  policies  regarding  your  subscription  to  CPN: 

All  complaints  about  missing  issues,  pages,  damaged  issues  and  lost  issues 
should  be  sent  to  the  Arboretum  and  NOT  to  the  co-editors.  Please  explain 
fully  your  problem  and  any  attempts  you  made  on  your  own  to  correct  them. 

Any  change  of  address  should  also  be  sent  to  the  Arboretum. 

All  material  for  publication,  comments  and  general  correspondence  about 
your  plants,  field  trips  or  special  noteworthy  events  relative  to  CP  should 
be  directed  to  one  of  the  co-editors.  We  are  interested  in  all  news  related 
to  carnivorous  plants  and  rely  on  the  membership  to  supply  us  with  this 
information  so  that  we  can  share  it  with  others.  Comments  on  the  new 
publisher,  new  printing  and  mailing  service  will  be  greatly  appreciated. 

Names  and  addresses  of  the  publisher  and  the  co-editors  will  be  found  in 
each  issue  under  our  bannerhead. 

0 

PHOTOS  WANTED 

We  are  very  interested  in  having  prints  of  your  photographs  relating  to 
carnivorous  plants.  Photos  should  be  glossy,  black  and  white  with  good 
contrast,  and  not  too  large  (3x5  is  a  good  size) .  Please  include  some 
item,  such  as  a  toothpick,  in  the  photo  for  size  reference.  Also,  please 
provide  us  with  a  description. 


t?Z9Z6  VD 

A^TSJSATUn 

S9DU9TDS  "[BOTbOIOTg  JO 


'uo^aanng 
btujojtxbo 
juauij  jredaci 


wnianoanv  3h,l 


CARNIVOROUS 
PLANT 


NEWSLETTER 


VOLUME  VI,  NO.  2* 
June,  1977 


Close-up  of  Venus  Flytrap,  Dionaea  mus  aipula .  Note  the  trigger  hairs. 
Photo  by  Steven  A.  Frowine,  The  Garden  Center  of  Greater  Cleveland. 


24 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


EDITOR  1 S  CORNER 

The  Editors  sincerely  wish  to  apologize  for  any  inconvenience  that  resulted  from  the 
snafu  in  the  California  State  University's  mailroom  that  caused  the  loss  of  all  mail¬ 
ings  outside  the  United  States.  Replacement  issues  have  been  sent  to  all  those  whose 
subscriptions  were  in  at  the  time  of  the  first  mailing.  If  you  still  haven't  received 
your  first  issue  by  the  time  you  are  reading  these  words,  please  notify  The  Arboretum. 
Future  mailings  will  be  handled  by  us  bypassing  the  mailroom.  In  any  case,  claims  for 
missing  numbers  should  always  be  sent  to  The  Arboretum. 

L.  Song  has  noted  that,  due  to  his  oversight,  the  World  List  was  not  included  in  the 
first  printing  of  the  back  issues.  If  you  have  ordered  Vol.  Ill  from  the  Arboretum 
and  the  World  List  was  not  included,  please  notify  them  and  a  World  List  will  be  sent 
at  no  cost. 


SEED/PLANT  EXCHANGE  NEWS 

Revision  of  the  Seed/Plant  Exchange  continues  as  noted  in  the  News  &  Views  Column. 

The  former  Seed/Plant  Exchange  List  will  now  be  issued  on  an  annual  basis  as  a  listing 
only  of  CP  that  any  particular  individual  has.  These  will  be  computerized  and  offset 
printed  resulting  in  a  more  permanent  record  and  will  be  sent  to  anyone  who  orders 
them.  A  charge  will  now  have  to  be  made  as  we  cannot  expect  the  Biology  Dept,  and  the 
University  to  pay  the  cost  of  printing  and  mailing  as  before.  For  the  US,  Canada  and 
Mexico,  $1.00  surface,  first  class;  all  others  $2.00  air,  first  class.  These  can  be 
henceforth  ordered  when  renewing  your  subscription  to  CPN,  or  upon  ordering  back  vol¬ 
umes,  or  separately.  We  regret  taking  this  step,  but  we  feel  that  our  activities 
should  be  on  a  self-supporting  basis  as  much  as  possible. 


SEED  BANK  NEWS 

We  have  selected  Patrick  Dwyer  (St.  Michael's  Episcopal  Church;  49  Killean  Park; 
Albany,  NY  12205;  USA)  as  the  keeper  of  the  Seed  Bank.  Please  address  all  inquiries 
about  seed  to  him  with  regards  to  availability.  Cost  will  be  $.50  per  packet.  Per¬ 
sons  wishing  to  donate  seed  should  note  date  of  collection,  name,  source  of  plants 
from  which  seed  was  gathered  (wild  or  cultivated) ,  and  any  other  information,  espe¬ 
cially  if  the  seed  was  wild  collected.  Send  to  him  as  soon  as  possible  for  maximum 
viability.  There  should  be  sufficient  seed  for  at  least  10  packets  each  which  would 
be  enough  to  sow  an  area  approximately  5cm/2  inches  in  diameter  in  the  case  of  fine 
seed  and  at  least  25  seeds  for  larger  seeded  species.  Credit  will  be  given  that  will 
entitle  the  donor  to  a  free  packet  for  each  species  donated.  The  inventory  of  the 
Seed  Bank  will  be  given  in  each  issue  of  CPN. 


We  are  pleased  to  announce  the  April  publication  of  THE  GREEN  PAGES:  A  COMPLETE 
INDOOR  PLANT  CATALOGUE.  This  publication  is  full  of  information  of  dozens  of 
different  indoor  plants  and  contains  a  wealth  of  information  on  clubs,  newsletters, 
equipment,  books,  and  plant  sources.  Our  own  CPN  and  CP  are  described  within  its 
pages.  This  book  sells  for  $7.95  and  may  be  ordered  from  Random  House/Ballantine 
Books,  Order  Entry,  Westminster,  Maryland  21157. 


CONGRATULATIONS  to  SCOTT  RICHARDSON  on  winning  the  Beginner's  Corner  Logo  Contest. 
Scott's  design,  which  appears  on  the  next  page,  wins  him  a  free  subscription  to  CPN 
for  1978. 


CO-EDITORS: 

Leo  Song 
The  Arboretum 
Dept,  of  Biology 
California  State  Univ. 
Fullerton,  CA  92634 

PUBLISHER:  The  Arboretum,  Dept,  of  Biology,  California  State  University,  Fullerton, 

CA  92634.  Published  quarterly  with  one  volume  annually.  Circulation: 

665  (361  new,  304  renewal).  Subscriptions:  $5.00  annually  (U.S.,  Canada, 
Mexico);  $7.00  annually  (all  others,  airmail). 


D.E.  Schnell 
Rt.  4,  Box  275B 
Statesville,  NC  28677 


J . A .  Mazrimas 
329  Helen  Way 
Livermore,  CA  94550 


T.L.  Mellichamp 
Dept,  of  Biology 
UNCC 

Charlotte,  NC  28223 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


CPN 


25 


corner 


by  Larry  Mellichamp 


LIGHT 


Of  all  the  essential  factors  involved  with  good  plant  growth,  light  is  perhaps  the 
most  important.  Even  with  carnivorous  plants,  where  proper  soil  and  water  are  of 
critical  concern,  light  is  still  probably  the  most  important  cultural  factor. 

What  is  light  and  why  is  it  so  important  that  growers  often  spend  hundreds  of  dollars 
on  artificial  light  fixtures  or  greenhouses  to  let  in  more  light?  Visible  white 
light  as  we  see  it  is  actually  a  mixture  of  colors,  literally  all  of  the  colors  of 
the  rainbow:  red,  orange,  yellow,  green,  blue,  and  violet.  In  addition,  infrared 
and  ultraviolet  are  non-visible  portions  of  this  spectrum  which  may  affect  plant 
growth,  the  former  producing  heat  and  the  latter  producing  strong  radiation  which 
may  burn.  Red  and  blue  light  are  the  most  important  colors  for  plant  growth. 

First  of  all,  light  is  important  because  it  is  the  energy  source  by  which  green 
plants  manufacture  their  basic  food  materials.  They  need  soil  only  for  essential 
inorganic  elements  such  as  copper,  iron,  sulfur,  etc.,  in  very  small  quantities. 

The  rest  of  their  raw  materials  come  from  the  air  and  water.  Even  carnivorous 
plants  produce  the  vast  majority  of  their  food  by  this  method  called  photosynthesis, 
feeding  on  insects  as  a  nutrient  (especially  nitrogen)  supplement. 

Second,  light  is  very  important  in  the  life  cycle  of  most  plants  because  it  acts 
as  nature's  timing  regulator.  The  length  of  day  and  quality  of  light  help  determine 
when  a  plant  is  to  start  growing  in  the  spring,  when  to  flower  and  set  seed  in  the 
summer,  and  when  to  go  into  dormancy  in  the  fall  in  rhythm  with  the  naturally  occur¬ 
ring  seasons.  Of  course,  temperature  plays  a  part  in  completing  the  cycle,  but  light 
is  the  main  environmental  trigger. 

How  much  light  is  necessary?  For  many  carnivorous  plants,  you  can't  give  them 
too  much — THE  LOVE  IT.  This  goes  for  all  the  native  North  American  species. 

Some  species  from  other  parts  of  the  world,  however,  require  less  than  full  sun 
(which  is  normally  about  10,000  footcandles  of  light  at  high  noon  in  eastern  U.S.). 
Those  types  which  prefer  some  shade  would  include  Nepenthes Cephalotus ,  and  some 
tropical  Droseras ,  U tricularias }  and  Pinguieulas. 

How  does  one  provide  adequate  light?  Natural  sunlight,  of  course,  is  ideal — in  a 
greenhouse  or  out  in  the  open.  Unfortunately,  plants  grown  in  a  greenhouse  will 
get  too  hot  in  the  summer  due  to  the  build-up  of  heat  (the  "greenhouse  effect") 
and  shading  is  always  required.  This  shading  (either  whitewash  material  applied 
to  the  greenhouse  covering  directly,  or  shade-cloth)  cuts  down  on  the  total  amount 
of  light  reaching  the  plants,  but  allows  the  shade-requiring  types  to  be  grown  with 
relatively  little  light  problems.  Also,  greenhouse  coverings  (glass  or  plastic) 
filter  our  ultraviolet  rays  and  the  plants  are  protected  from  such  exposure.  Thus, 
you  should  never  place  greenhouse-grown  plants  abruptly  in  full  sunlight  because 
they  will  burn.  Expose  them  gradually.  When  plants  are  grown  in  full  sun,  or 
strong  light  intensities  either  under  glass  or  under  artificial  light,  they  develop 
varying  amounts  of  red  coloration  in  the  leaves  and  stems,  especially  young  leaves. 
This  is  a  protective  device,  much  like  tanning  in  humans,  which  prevents  the  leaves 
from  being  burned.  This  red  pigment  production  is  a  natural  response,  and  is  often 
desirable  in  cultivation  as  it  brings  out  the  "heal thy-looking"  colors  in  the  plants. 
Like  tanning,  however,  it  may  not  be  desirable  in  the  long  run;  but  it  is  the  price 
the  plant  pays  for  being  able  to  endure  the  intense  sunlight  where  maximum  photo¬ 
synthesis  can  occur. 

Now  just  because  you  don't  have  a  greenhouse  doesn't  mean  you  can't  grow  CP.  Half 
days  or  more  sun  through  a  window  may  be  enough  for  satisfactory  growth  in  many 
types,  as  long  as  the  plants  don't  get  too  hot  by  being  too  close  to  the  glass. 

If  you  grow  CP  in  a  terrarium,  do  not  let  it  stand  tightly  closed  where  direct  sun's 
rays  will  strike  it,  or  there  will  be  a  build-up  of  heat  inside  and  you  can  liter¬ 
ally  boil  your  plants. 


26 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


Artificial  light  indoors  is  fast  becoming  a  very  popular  and  effective  way  to  grow 
carnivorous  plants.  The  plants  would  best  be  grown  in  large  terraria,  either  planted 
out  or  kept  in  individual  pots,  where  relatively  high  humidity  can  be  maintained. 

The  heights  of  the  plants  must  be  considered,  but  it  is  usually  the  smaller  types 
which  are  best  suited  for  this  arrangement.  The  major  problems  have  been  to  provide 
adequate  light  without  heat  build-up;  and  to  provide  the  proper  colors  of  the  spec¬ 
trum  most  useful  to  the  plants,  so  that  they  grow  and  look  natural.  Fluorescent 
lights  are  highly  preferred  because  they  are  cooler  and  cheaper  to  operate  than 
incandescent  lights.  A  mixture  of  cool  white  and  wide  spectrum  Gro-lux  seems  to  be 
optimal  as  far  as  providing  the  proper  mixture  of  blue  and  red  light  at  a  reasonable 
cost.  For  example,  a  fixture  holding  4,  48",  40-watt  tubes  suspended  several  inches 
above  the  plants  would  provide  for  satisfactory  growth  in  most  species.  The  more 
light  fixtures  you  have,  the  better  for  light-loving  plants.  Usually  the  lights  are 
set  on  an  automatic  timer  to  shine  from  14-18  hours  a  day.  Natural  timing  will  be 
altered,  but  most  carnivorous  plants  will  grow  (and  flower)  as  long  as  these  condi¬ 
tions  are  maintained.  Providing  artificial  dormancy  during  the  winter  is  desirable 
for  temperate  species  and  this  may  be  accomplished  by  gradually  decreasing  the  length 
of  the  artificial  "day"  each  day  over  a  period  of  six  weeks,  then  placing  the  plants 
in  a  cool  place  for  several  weeks,  to  simulate  winter  conditions:  40°F  and  eight-hour 
day  length.  Dormancy  requirements  will  be  discussed  more  fully  in  a  later  article. 
For  more  information  on  indoor  light  gardening  in  general,  consult  the  excellent 
popular  books  by  Fitch  or  Elbert. 

In  the  next  issue,  Don  Schnell  will  discuss  temperature  and  dormancy. 


Q.  I  would  like  to  know  how  to  control  the 
black  rot  that  destroys  CP's,  especially 

Dionaea,  Pinguiaula  and  Drosera?  G.M. , 

Mission  Viejo,  CA. 


A.  Most  CP  rot  under  one  of  three  circumstances: 
1)  Growth  in  undrained  container  without 
proper  attention--beginners  should  use  drain- 
hole  containers;  2)  Damage  to  rhizome  through 
handling;  3)  Forcing  growth  during  dormancy, 
sometimes  unwittingly,  such  as  too  warm  winter 
greenhouse  or  not  making  proper  adjustments 
when  growing  under  lights.  (Light  growers 
must  make  annual  cyclic  adjustments  when  grow¬ 
ing  temperate  plants!) 


Q.  Of  all  my  Sarraaenia ,  I  have  the  most  trouble  growing  S.  rubra  ssp.  jonesii. 
Why?  J.M.,  Livermore,  CA. 

A.  I  have  no  trouble  growing  S.  rubra  ssp.  jonesii.  It  is  in  drained  pots  with 

live  sphagnum.  For  some  reason,  the  plants  do  not  do  as  well  outdoors  in  this 
climate,  likely  because  of  the  cyclic  periods  of  warm  weather  during  the  winter 
which  partially  breaks  dormancy,  conditions  they  are  subjected  to  less  in  the 
colder  mountains.  Here  in  central  North  Carolina,  the  best  plants  do  very  well 
in  my  cool  Sarraaenia  greenhouse  with  minimum  nighttime  temps  down  to  40°F. 

This  is  certainly  warmer  than  the  mountains,  but  does  not  provide  as  violent  a 
swing.  Steady  slightly  warm  temps  are  better  than  wide  swings  throughout  the 
winter . 


Q.  What  is  the  preferred  pronunciation  for  the  species  of  Sarraaenia  known  as 
leucophyllal  R.H.,  Arroyo  Grande,  CA. 

A.  I  pronounce  leuaophylla  as  leuaophy ll  ' a .  According  to  the  strict  Latin  rules, 

it  would  be  pronounced  leuao ' phy lla ,  enunciating  the  third  from  the  last  syllable. 
D.B.  Jackson's  Glossary  of  Botanic  Terms,  a  sort  of  standard  classic  work,  gives 
pronunciation  as  I  do,  leuaophy  ll  '  a .  Likewise  for  purpurea :  Jackson  gives  it 
as  purpur'ea,  as  I  would  pronounce  it.  However,  I  often  hear  it  purpure'a.  The 
purpu'rea  is  according  to  the  rule;  the  latter  is  not,  but  is  like  the  pronun¬ 
ciation  of  leuaophy ll ’ a-- so  there  is  no  consistency.  I  think  a  lot  has  to  do 
with  sound  and  ease  of  saying  the  syllables  in  each  case.  Hope  this  helps. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


CPN 


27 


NEWS  AND  VIEWS 

JOE  MAZRIMAS  writes:  Recently,  I  made  three  observations  regarding  some  aspects  of 
CP  that  I  would  like  to  share  with  CPN  subscribers.  First,  I  noticed  a  dramatic  im¬ 
provement  in  the  growth  and  flowering  of  the  Mexican  Pinguiculas  after  a  one-time 
watering  of  lime  water.  A  thimbleful  of  hydrated  agricultural  lime  was  added  to  a 
pint  of  deionized  water  and  shaken  vigorously  for  two  minutes.  A  cupful  was  poured 
into  each  pot  and  I  tried  to  avoid  splashing  any  on  the  plant  leaves.  Most  of  the 
plants  are  growing  in  an  even  mixture  of  perlite  and  living  sphagnum  moss.  I  continued 
to  water  them  with  deionized  water  and  I  noticed  a  rapid  spurt  of  growth  after  about 
3-4  weeks  followed  by  the  production  of  many  flower  spikes.  The  plants  that  were  af¬ 
fected  the  most  were:  P.  x  kewensis,  P.  caudata,  P.  hirti flora,  P.  gypsicola,  P.  ooli- 
mensis,  P.  oblongiloba.  Many  of  these  species  were  even  stimulated  to  have  secondary 
buds  growing  out  of  the  mother  plant.  I  use  this  treatment  about  twice  a  year  and 
have  been  satisfied  with  it  for  several  years.  This  treatment  mimics  the  calcelarious 
soil  and  gypsum-like  formations  where  the  plants  grow  naturally.  Second,  I'm  glad  to 
finally  see  some  careful  research  into  the  digestive  activities  of  carnivorous  plants 
with  the  surprising  results  reported  by  Chandler  and  Anderson  of  Australia  (see  litera¬ 
ture  review,  CPN  VI,  No.  1) .  It  seems  to  me  that  microbiologists  should  become  more 
involved  with  the  role  that  various  microorganisms  play  in  synergism  with  the  plant's 
endogenous  enzymes  to  provide  nutrients  for  pitcher  plants  as  well  as  Dr  os  era.  In 
many  cases,  the  pitcher  becomes  just  the  pot  or  incubator  for  the  bacterial  soup  and 
may  be  the  dominant  factor  in  digesting  the  captured  organisms.  As  these  two  biochem¬ 
ists  point  out,  the  complicated  numbers  of  various  species  of  bacteria  and  other 
microorganisms  exist  in  an  ecological  niche  which  is  important  to  the  growth  and  well¬ 
being  of  various  CP.  The  plant's  enzymes  play  such  an  insignificant  role  in  the  whole 
digestion  process  that  I  wonder  if  these  plants  are  indeed  carnivorous  in  the  strict 
sense  of  the  term  or  are  they  just  taking  advantage  of  more  useful  and  powerful  means 
at  their  disposal  over  the  course  of  evolution.  A  more  quantitative  assessment  of  this 
situation  should  be  taken  up  by  others  in  the  field  so  that  we  may  know  the  actual  role 
that  microorganisms  contribute  to  these  plants. 

Third,  I  had  the  opportunity  of  irradiating  some  seed  with  ionizing  radiation  of  the 
gamma  type.  Dionaea  seed  were  divided  into  lots  and  irradiated  with  varying  doses  from 
5,000  rads  to  25,000  rads  in  5,000  rad  increments.  I  sowed  the  seed  on  peat  moss  and 
noted  the  results.  In  this  preliminary  report,  I  observed  that  there  was  a  considerable 
delay  in  germination  with  the  higher  doses— as  much  as  90  days.  Also,  seed  killing  was 
proportional  to  radiation  dose,  i.e.  only  about  10-15%  of  the  total  seed  germinated  at 
25,000  rads.  The  seedlings  that  survived  at  this  dose  grew  extremely  slowly  and  in 
fact  some  never  grew  beyond  the  cotyledon  stage.  They  seemed  to  have  a  central  corm- 
like  growth  from  which  the  new  leaves  emerged.  All  parts  of  these  plants  seemed  normal 
in  shape  and  size  but  there  was  some  uneveness  in  the  anthocyanin  coloration  inside  the 
traps  which  made  the  trap  look  striped.  On  the  other  hand,  the  low  doses  and  in  parti¬ 
cular  the  5,000  rad  dose  gave  surprising  results.  First,  these  seeds  germinated  before 
the  control  seed  by  5-7  days.  They  grew  very  fast  and  in  fact,  in  a  year's  time  they 
were  about  twice  as  large  as  the  control  plants.  Also,  the  plants  will  probably  mature 
faster  although  they  haven't  flowered  yet.  I  surmise  that  the  radiation  stimulated  the 
hormone  system  in  the  seed  stage  so  that  it  became  activated  sooner  than  normal  plants 
or  the  radiation  might  have  unbalanced  the  normal  hormone  system  so  that  growth  hormones 
were  relatively  less  damaged  by  the  radiation. 

BILL  HANNA  sends  us  information  that  many  of  the  tuberous  species  of  Drosera  are  said 
to  have  HCN  or  prussic  acid,  a  deadly  poison.  Although  no  records  of  feeding  tests 
have  been  noted  in  the  literature,  some  of  the  species  suspected  as  poisonous  in 
Australia  are:  D.  auriculata,  D.  peltata ,  whittakeri  and  D.  spathulata .  These  spe¬ 
cies  were  listed  in  a  book  titled:  Poisonous  Plants  of  Australia  by  Selwyn  L.  Everist. 

DAVID  TAYLOR  suggests  that  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  have  photographs  of  CPN  sub¬ 
scribers  in  the  newsletter  at  some  time  for  it  would  be  interesting  for  many  CP  col¬ 
lectors  to  see  photos  of  their  friends  in  other  lands  with  whom  they  have  been 
corresponding. 

DAVID  GRABER  writes:  I  grow  Sarracenia  flava  outdoors  in  a  pot,  where  it  does  quite 
well  in  Berkeley's  climate.  This  fall  I  noticed  that  a  small  population  of  Argentine 
ants,  Iridomyrmex  humilis ,  was  established  in  the  live  moss  of  the  pot.  These  ants 
were  climbing  the  stalks  of  the  Sarracenia  and  entering  their  pitchers.  The  young 
pitchers  successfully  captured  the  ants  that  entered  them.  In  the  older  pitchers, 
however,  the  ants  were  able  to  enter  the  pitchers  and  escape  with  parts  of  the  insects 
captured  there,  presumably  because  these  older  pitchers  had  lost  their  slick  inner 
surfaces.  Thus  there  was  an  energetic  trade-off  between  the  ant  colony  and  the 
pitcher  plant,  an  ad-hoc  symbiosis  of  sorts,  in  which  ants  were  sacrificed  to  the 
young  pitchers  that  could  best  utilize  them,  in  exchange  for  food  from  the  older 
pitchers  that  were  no  longer  efficiently  utilizing  the  captured  food  resource. 


28 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


STEVE  ROSE  writes:  Why  not  look  for  pygmy  Drosera  in  areas  between  roads  and  high¬ 
ways?  It's  because  many  pygmy  Drosera  grow  at  their  best  along  roadside  ditches. 

In  virgin  bush,  they  are  scattered,  miserable  and  hard  to  find.  There  are  very 
large  tracts  of  native  virgin  woodlands  in  Australia  all  bearing  some  CPs.  Intro¬ 
duced  grasses  choked  out  all  but  the  hardiest  CPs  and  animals  destroy  them  underfoot. 
When  the  hard  mulching  dirt  around  the  base  of  the  pygmy  Drosera  is  disturbed  or 
moved,  it  soon  dies  in  summer.  This  is  true  for  most  CPs  except  for  Cephalotus  and 
Drosera  bulbosa  hills.  The  D.  bulbosa  grows  like  a  weed  in  some  places  like  football 
ovals  and  caravan  parks  where  there  is  adequate  water  and  grass  being  cut  to  keep 
shade  to  a  minimum.  I  have  even  seen  this  Drosera  actually  overtake  couch  grass  in 
one  place  and  choke  it  out.  The  pygmy  plants  formed  a  maroon  red  carpet  with  almost 
no  visible  portions  of  soil  or  grass  between. 

I  recognize  two  distinct  clones  of  Nepenthes  mirabilis  from  North  Queensland.  They 
are  the  WEIPA  form  from  the  northwest  coast  of  Cape  York  Peninsula  which  has  a 
smaller  and  fatter  pitcher.  The  BAMAGA  form  is  from  the  northeast  coast  of  C.Y.P. 
and  has  a  long  and  narrow  pitcher.  The  plants  remain  constant  to  each  area  in 
growth . 

Here  are  some  more  observations  on  Byblis  gigantea  in  the  field.  Byblis  is  indis¬ 
criminately  pollinated  by  a  rather  fat  native  bee  who  goes  around  and  shakes  the 
twisted  stamens  by  "buzzing"  them  with  his  abdomen.  The  pollen  is  released  in  a 
small  puff  and  off  he  goes  on  to  the  next  one.  I  saw  this  happen  a  few  weeks  ago 
and  the  bee  did  not  release  great  amounts  of  pollen  because  I  have  seen  more  released 
from  wind  movement  as  I  mentioned  before. 

Is  Byblis  carnivorous?*  Only  a  positive  test  can  prove  it  one  way  or  another.  There 
are  some  interesting  habits  that  should  not  be  overlooked.  It  shares  with  most 
pygmy  Droseras  a  symbiotic  relationship  with  Assassin  bugs.  There  are  three  differ¬ 
ent  kinds  on  Byblis  but  pygmy  Droseras  seem  to  have  only  one  type  per  species  or 
share  one.  One  of  the  bugs  on  Byblis  is  on  Drosera  plants  also.  Byblis  also  has  a 
sweet  smell.  Why  should  a  plant  develop  a  sweet  odor  to  attract  insects  and  then 
they  would  serve  no  other  purpose  other  than  to  eat  the  plant  if  it  was  not  carnivor¬ 
ous  or  did  not  have  sticky  glands  or  Assassin  bugs.  Perhaps  it  attracts  and  catches 
insects  solely  for  the  Assassin  bugs?  Who  knows?  And  for  what  purpose?  These 
carnivorous  plants  are  attacked  by  thrips  and  aphids  which  Assassin  bugs  devour  with 
gusto.  In  fact,  I  had  two  pots  of  D.  drummondi ,  one  with  and  one  without  its  rele¬ 
vant  bug.  The  one  without  was  infested  with  aphids  and  almost  rotted  while  the  other 
pot  remained  untouched  and  not  an  aphid  to  be  seen.  Why  should  Byblis  have  the 
sweet,  sticky  glands.  Assassin  bugs  when  it  may  get  by  without  these  factors?  Byblis 
is  really  a  desert-like  plant  in  the  Northern  areas.  It  grows  in  a  mixture  of  coarse 
laterite  (ironstone)  and  quartz.  This  area  receives  rain  all  in  a  3-4  month  period 
between  May  and  August.  Less  than  18  inches  of  rain  falls  per  year.  It  can  go  about 
6-8  months  without  as  much  as  one  drop  of  rain.  Pygmy  Droseras  (D.  drummondi,  D. 
leucoblasta)  and  tuberous  Droseras  (D.  maerantha,  D.  erythrorhiza  and  D.  pallida) 
survive  here  also.  So  if  the  Droseras  survive  these  desert  conditions,  then  the 
carnivorous  habit  can  also  survive  in  the  form  of  Byblis  gigantea . 

BOB  WALLACE  has  informed  us  that  there  is  a  newsletter  devoted  to  naturalists  inter¬ 
ested  in  rotifers  and  called  the  ROTIFER  NEWS.  Perhaps  some  CPN  readers  are  interested 
in  these  little  animals.  Three  issues  have  already  been  published,  the  cost  is  free, 
and  back  issues  can  still  be  obtained.  Write:  Dr.  JJ  Gilbert,  Editor,  Rotifer  News, 
Dept,  of  Biological  Sciences,  Dartmouth  College,  Hanover,  NH  03755. 

BILL  NETHERBY  writes:  1.  Schnell's  article  in  Vol.  Ill,  Issue  3,  p.  35,  on  moth 
larvae  pests  .  .  .  anybody  tried  controlling  larvae  with  Bacillus  thuringiensis ? 

(Two  trade  names  are  "Thuricide"  and  "Biotrol")  It's  a  biological  control  harmful 
(as  far  as  I  know)  only  to  lepidoptera  and  is  used  on  oak  moth  and  webworm  infest¬ 
ations.  There  isn't  any  phytotoxic  effect. 

2.  Concerning  chemicals  (for  pests  and  diseases)  that  have  bad  effects  .  .  .  some 

excellent  information  based  on  current  research  with  tropical  foliage  crops  is 
available  in  issues  of  "Florida  Foliage  Grower"  (free  subscription),  c/o  Institute 
of  Food ' and  Agricultural  Sciences,  University  of  Florida,  Gainesville,  Fla.  32601. 

An  article  on  "Soil-Borne  Fungus  Diseases"  (and  their  control)  is  in  the  March 
1976  issue,  (Vol.  13,  #3)  and  notes  on  plant  damage  from  fungicides.  A  warning 
note:  back  issues  are  variously  unobtainable;  both  budget  and  quantities  per 

issue  are  very  limited.  Last  year  I  learned  that  the  complete  set  of  "F.F.G." 

"will  be  offered  by  the  Ornamental  Horticulture  Club  at  a  donation  cost  of  $65.00 
per  set."  (Checks  payable  to  the  O.H.  Club,  101  Rolfs  Hall,  University  of  Florida, 
Gainesville,  Fla.  32601.) 

I  think  these  publications  are  very  useful  to  all  growers  of  exotics,  CP  species, 
et  al.  The  sensitivity  of  many  plants  to  chemicals  such  as  Cygon,  TEPP,  etc., 
shows  the  commonality  between  many  plant  families. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


CPN 


29 


3.  Still  on  chemicals  .  .  .  cytokinins  were  just  mentioned  in  the  Bromeliad 
Society  Journal,  Jan-Feb/77,  pp.  31-33:  "Induction  of  Lateral  Growths  on 
Vrieseas  by  Cytokinins."  Some  bromeliads,  like  some  CP  species,  offer  very 
little  propagation  material  per  season.  Encouraging  multiple  offsets  on  species 
that  normally  produce  one  annually  with  cytokinins  is  exciting  in  its  possible 
applications  by  CP  growers.  The  compound  in  the  article  is  N6- (benzylamino ) - 
9H-purine  ( N 6 -benzyladenine )  mostly  non-soluble  in  water.  The  author  made  a  2%- 
strength  salve  in  a  mixture  with  anhydrous  lanolin.  It  was  applied  to  both  plant 
and  flower  scape,  results  positive  on  both  in  a  matter  of  weeks.  What  the  cyto¬ 
kinins  do  is  to  activate  dormant  meristematic  tissue  just  beneath  the  surface, 
gently  scarifying  the  bark  of  "skin"  especially  at  nodes  and  leaf  bases,  then 
applying  the  salve  is  recommended. 

4.  CP  seed  germination  and  energy  conservation  tip:  I  use  my  stove  top  for  starting 
seeds.  A  pot  of  water  over  the  pilot  light,  with  a  cookie  tray  covering  it,  pots 

of  seeds  sitting  on  the  tray.  Soil  temperatures  stay  at  27°C.  (about  80°F.)  I  also 
have  near-hot  water  in  the  morning  for  preparing  breakfast  and  tea. 

5.  Artificial  lighting:  I've  grown  CP  species  under  balanced  fluorescent  lighting, 
using  about  the  same  as  everybody  regarding  fixtures,  but  I  manage  to  get  the  most 
out  of  the  light  intensity  as  possible.  I  conserve  or  maximize  the  foot-candle 
production  by  surrounding  the  terrarium  or  propagating  chamber  with  panels  painted 
flat  white.  About  90%  or  more  of  the  light  is  reflected  back  to  the  plants.  Shiny 
aluminum  tinfoil  used  for  cooking  is  almost  as  effective,  reflecting  80-85%.  While 
I'm  playing  around  with  numbers  and  the  issue  of  conservation,  using  conventional 
incandescent  fixtures  (the  old  "light  bulbs")  wastes  about  80%  of  the  electricity 
invested,  converting  the  energy  into  either  heat  or  unusable  light  waves  .  .  . 
according  to  one  publication  (Kent  State  University) .  Conversely,  the  right  fluor¬ 
escent  tube  wastes  only  10-15%  of  the  energy. 

6.  I'd  like  to  see  articles  on  research  into  CP  species'  "biological  clocks"  .  .  . 
i.e.  many  species'  stolid  "attention"  to  the  calendar,  despite  attempts  by  growers 
to  change  the  plants'  growing  seasons.  The  article  by  Clemesha  (Vol.  Ill,  #1,  p.  13) 
mentioned  his  problems  with  Darlingtonia  in  Australia. 

Has  anyone  managed  with  success  to  overcome  this  difficulty  so  common  to  plants  from 
def ined-season  areas? 

7.  I  hope  there'll  be  reports  in  CPN  covering  the  effects  of  this  last  winter  on 
CP  species  and  their  habitats  (in  the  eastern  U.S.A) . 

Also,  I'd  like  to  hear  how  western  U.S.  species  have  fared  as  a  result  of  the 
current  drought. 

8.  Seed  propagation:  Has  anybody  used  thiourea  on  species  with  seeds  that  tend  to 
stay  dormant  through  the  winter?  This  chemical  was  referred  to  by  Dara  Emery  in 
"Seed  Propagation  of  Native  California  Plants"  (Feb/1964),  a  14-page  booklet 
(Vol.  I,  #10)  one  of  the  issues  of  "Leaflets  of  the  Santa  Barbara  Botanic  Garden" 
(address  is  1212  Mission  Canyon  Road,  Santa  Barbara,  CA  93105)  and  the  cost  is  $1.00. 

Emery  describes  "internal  dormancy"  caused  by  alkaloid  chemicals.  Soaking  the  seed 
in  thiourea  straight  or  mixed  with  sulfuric  acid  or  gibberellic  acid  has  been  used 
on  California  species  (proportions  not  given) . 

The  booklet  covers  no  CP  ssp.  but  deals  with  many  herbaceous  and  woody  plants  with 
"problem  seeds"  much  like  Byhlis  gigantea .  Tried-and-true  methods  of  seed  treat¬ 
ment  are  listed  along  with  several  hundred  taxa  native  to  California. 

PHILIP  THOMAS  writes:  I  would  like  to  report  a  Dionaea  that  I  collected  near 
Hampstead,  N.C.  that  has  an  exceptional  number  of  trigger  hairs.  An  instance  of 
this  was  also  reported  by  Mr .  A.  Simon  in  CPN  Vol.  Ill,  No.  3,  p.  33.  At  first  I 
noticed  an  irregular  number  on  one  lobe,  six,  and  then  also  I  noticed  that  its 
mate  had  four.  This  aroused  my  ciriosity,  so  I  checked  around  for  more  on  that 
plant.  On  almost  every  trap  there  was  an  irregular  number  of  these.  I  suppose  it 
may  be  a  genetic  mutation.  On  this  particular  plant,  four  trigger  hairs  on  each 
lobe  seemed  to  be  the  dominant  number.  Several  of  the  other  plants  in  its  vicinity 
had  slight  variations  in  trigger  hair  numbers.  If  anyone  is  seriously  interested 
in  this  occurrence  and  might  like  to  a  research  project  on  it,  let  me  know  and  I 
will  try  to  send  you  a  cutting  or  some  seed  of  this  plant,  depending  on  how  well 
it  does  this  spring  and  other  circumstances. 

I  had  a  worm  (caterpillar,  more  correctly)  caught  in  a  Dionaea  trap.  I  noticed  it 
on  January  31.  The  posterior  1/3  of  it  had  been  caught.  I  observed  it  every  day 
until  February  6,  when  it  apparently  died.  That's  right;  it  had  been  living  with 
its  posterior  section  in  a  trap  for  an  entire  week!  About  the  3rd,  I  checked  to 
see  if  it  had  been  possibly  eating  the  trap  for  a  source  of  food,  but  no  damage 
had  been  done.  It  had  woven  several  strands  of  "silk"  on  the  cilia  of  the  traps, 
but  other  than  that,  no  harm  had  been  done.  I  was  hoping  that  it  would  live  until 


30 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


the  lobe  reopened  to  see  if  it  would  get  caught  again,  but  I  did  not  get  to  find 
this  out.  If  anyone  else  has  had  a  similar  occurrence,  please  let  me  know. 

Oddities  like  this  always  fascinate  me. 

I  know  this  might  sound  silly,  but  just  out  of  curiosity,  I  once  fed  a  Dionaea 
lobe  a  "Dynamint."  I  thought  that  the  trap  would  shortly  reopen  because  of  no 
continued  stimulation  of  the  trigger  hairs,  or  else  quickly  rot  the  trap,  but  I 
was  proven  wrong.  Two  weeks  later,  the  trap  was  still  closed,  quickly  pouring 
digestive  fluids  over  its  "victim."  It  was  pouring  out  all  sides  of  the  trap  and 
was  interesting  to  observe.  About  one  week  after  that,  it  reopened  with  a  small 
undigested  portion  that  had  stuck  to  the  lobe  with  only  a  very  slight  browning 
around  the  edge  of  one  lobe.  After  two  more  weeks,  this  darkening  has  not  spread, 
so  I  guess  it  was  just  because  of  direct  contact  with  its  "prey"  for  so  long.  This 
plant  definitely  has  a  "sweet  tooth."  (Tooth!?) 

DON  BURDEN  writes  to  tell  us  of  a  method  of  rooting  Nepenthes :  Take  a  clear  plastic 
cup  (3in  x  4in  high)  and  fill  it  with  a  one  inch  layer  of  perlite  and  fill  the  rest 
with  live  sphagnum,  perlite  and  fine  tree-fern  fiber  (4:2:1) .  Make  five  drain  holes 
in  the  bottom  by  melting  the  plastic  with  a  hot  nail. 

Take  four  leaf  cuttings,  pinch  off  the  growing  tip,  cut  the  ends  at  a  45°  angle  and 
cut  back  the  leaves  so  that  there  is  about  2  inches  left.  Dip  the  entire  cutting 
in  benomyl  solution  (1  tsp/gal)  for  a  minute  and  coat  the  cut  surfaces  with  rootone. 
Place  a  piece  of  wetted  fine  bark  at  the  bottom  of  the  cutting  so  that  a  callous 
will  form.  The  cuttings  are  then  buried  half  way  into  the  moss  and  a  plastic  bag  is 
secured  by  a  rubber  band.  One  turn  of  a  heating  cable  can  be  wrapped  around  the  cup. 
Water  when  the  cup  is  nearly  dry  and  only  with  distilled  or  boiled  rain  water.  The 
cuttings  should  root  in  4-6  weeks  but  leave  them  alone  until  roots  are  seen  clearly 
and  then  repot  in  6  inch  plastic  pots.  I  have  rooted  a  cutting  of  N.  x  hoissiense 
var.  rubra  using  this  method. 

BILL  HANNA  writes  about  his  most  recent  trip  to  Taiwan:  I  visited  with  Professor 
Fan-Tuang  Kuo  who  published  two  papers  ("Studies  on  Droseraceae  of  Taiwan"  and 
"Studies  on  Lentibulariacea  of  Taiwan",  published  in  the  Biological  Bulletin  of 
Nat.  Taiwan  Normal  University,  published  in  1966  and  1968  respectively.)  He  lives 
in  a  place  called  Hsin-Chu  (pronounced  Sin  Shoe,  which  means  windy  city.  If  you 
ever  visit  there,  you  will  understand  why.)  I  rang  him  from  Taipei,  and  we  arranged 
a  day  for  me  to  come  and  visit  him.  After  many  hassles,  I  finally  found  someone 
at  the  railway  station  who  spoke  English  (the  station  master  was  the  only  one) ,  and 

I  booked  my  ticket  for  the  day  before  we  left.  I  got  up  that  morning  and  went  down 

to  the  station  to  find  someone  else  who  could  speak  English  so  I  could  find  out  what 
platform  the  train  left  from.  After  an  hour  and  fifteen  minutes,  I  arrived  at  Hsin- 
Chu.  I  was  met  at  the  station  by  Professor  Kuo  and  his  son.  First  of  all,  they 
took  me  into  town  to  meet  his  wife  at  her  shop;  his  eldest  daughter  was  there  also. 
Then  we  went  on  a  detailed  sight-seeing  tour  of  Hsin-Chu,  visiting  a  Buddhist  temple 
topped  by  a  great  enormous  statue,  which  is  apparently  of  the  first  Chinese  Fung  Fu 
master,  who  is  in  some  parts  worshipped  as  a  god.  After  that  we  went  to  his  place 
where  we  had  an  incredible  Cantonese  style  (I  think)  Chinese  meal.  It  was  so  vast 
you  could  not  jump  over  it — apparently  his  mother  and  two  daughters  had  been  cooking 
all  morning  for  us.  At  a  local  Chinese  Restaurant  I  would  estimate  such  meals  cost 
somewhere  between  $60  and  $70.  There  were  two  types  of  soup  in  gigantic  bowls--one 
was  very  fatty  and  one  was  gorgeous;  it  had  mushrooms  and  little  bits  of  shallots. 

In  amongst  that  were  great  tasting  meat  balls  wrapped  in  a  fancy  pastry.  As  far  as 

I  could  tell,  the  meat  inside  consisted  of  small  pieces  of  pork,  shrimp  and  perhaps 
some  beef  and  poultry.  We  ate  our  meal  in  conjunction  with  a  bowl  of  fried  rice 
with  a  dif f erence--instead  of  being  grains  of  rice,  it  was  rice  noodles.  We  had 
genuine  Peking  duck,  sweet  and  sour  squid,  sliced  beef  with  capisican,  a  plate  of 
some  shell  fish  (which  didn't  look  very  appealing,  so  I  didn't  try  it),  and  another 
plate  of  something  else  which  didn't  appeal  to  European  tastes.  In  each  plate  there 
was  not  just  a  little  bit,  but  a  whole  mountain  of  food. 

After  lunch  we  went  out  to  have  a  look  at  the  local  Drosera  (burmannii ,  indica  and 
spathulata) .  To  get  to  where  the  burmannii  and  spathulata  grew  we  drove  for  about 
half  an  hour,  over  bumpy  unpaved  country  roads,  until  the  road  got  so  narrow  we  had 
to  get  out  and  walk,  slipping  and  sliding,  almost  falling,  down  the  very  greasy 
narrow  yellow  clay  road.  After  some  walking  we  went  across  a  dried  out  rice  paddy 
and  on  a  little  dirt  embankment,  which  was  used  for  maintaining  the  water  level  of 
the  paddy  field.  Above  it  were  growing  numerous  plants  of  spathulata  with  an  occa¬ 
sional  clump  of  burmannii  here  and  there.  From  here  we  hopped  in  the  car  and  drove 
for  about  another  45  minutes,  for  the  last  part  down  roads  that  were  so  narrow  that 
the  wheels  of  the  car  fitted  very  neatly  in  the  gutter  on  each  side  of  the  road. 

We  got  out  and  climbed  up  an  embankment,  hopped  over  an  irrigation  channel,  and 
walked  along  the  top  of  one  of  the  little  risen  paths  which  criss-cross  the  paddies 
so  as  to  allow  easy  access  and  to  maintain  the  water  levels.  We  must  have  spent 


Volume  VI,  No.  2 


CPN 


31 


about  an  hour  looking  around  the  edges  of  this  large  field  and  finally  on  one  of 
the  inside  criss-crosses  Professor  Kuo  found  a  plant  of  Drosera  indica,  and  a  little 
way  up  we  found  another,  then  another  until  all  told  we  notched  up  four  or  five 
plants.  This  quite  amazed  the  Professor,  as  when  he  visited  the  same  place  two 
years  ago  there  were  hundreds  of  them  everywhere,  and  it  had  taken  us  over  an  hour 
to  find  four  or  five.  The  sharp  drop  in  numbers  he  attributed  to  fertilizers. 

There  was  a  farmer  working  the  field;  he  showed  him  what  we  were  collecting  and 
asked  him  if  he  knew  what  had  happened  to  all  the  plants  like  we  had  been  collecting 
that  used  to  grow  there.  The  farmer  didn't  know,  just  that  there  were  hardly  any  of 
them  anymore. 

On  the  way  home  to  Taipei  (the  Professor  drove  me  all  that  way)  Prof.  Kuo's  generos¬ 
ity  came  through  again — he  gave  me  two  copies  of  his  works  in  Chinese  and  one  English 
translation  of  the  work  on  Utricularias .  He  also  gave  me  some  large  cardboard  sheets 
with  a  specimen  mounted  on  each--together  they  were  all  the  CP  that  grew  in  Taiwan. 

He  also  gave  me  six  copper  incense  burners  and  six  boxes  of  scented  incenses  to  burn 
in  them.  He  said  for  me  to  give  them  as  presents  to  my  friends  back  home  as  a  bit  of 
Chinese  culture.  The  Professor  had  an  incredible  sense  of  humour  and  would  go  into 
almost  fits  of  hysteria  at  the  drop  of  a  hat.  He  has  invited  me  back  next  year  to 
go  and  see  the  Utrioulavias ,  which,  he  said,  are  found  on  some  islands  either  to  the 
south  or  the  north  (I  am  not  sure  which) .  All  I  know  is  that  it  will  be  a  three-day 
trip,  but  I  doubt  that  I  will  have  the  cash  to  go  back.  One  last  thing  before  I 
sign  off  with  Taiwan  (it's  probably  not  of  much  importance) :  the  soil  in  which 
spathulata  and  burmannii  grew  was  a  very  sandy  yellow  clay,  whereas  the  indica  was 
growing  in  pure  greasy  yellow  clay.  It  seemed  very  strange  that  the  burmannii  and 
indica  were  growing  there  as  the  weather  was  freezing  cold.  There  was  even  snow  on 
some  of  the  mountains  (not  close,  but  the  breeze  was  blowing  off  it) .  What  all  of 
this  is  leading  to  is  that  I  thought  of  these  as  being  tropical  to  semi-tropical 
types.  Should  you  like  some  I  have  collected  seed  of  spathulata  from  Taiwan.  The 
Professor  collected  some  burmannii  and  indica  for  me,  but  they  didn't  look  like  they 
would  last  long  enough  for  me  to  get  home  with  them,  so  I  gave  them  to  Dorothy  and 
Kenneth  U. 

Regarding  Nepenthes  in  Taipei:  they  have  quite  a  few  plants,  but  there  is  only  one 
variety.  They  don't  know  which  one  it  is,  only  that  it  came  from  Japan.  The  place 
is  called  SHIH  LIN  GARDEN,  604,  Chung  Shan  North  Road,  Section  5,  Shin  Lin  Taipei, 
Taiwan,  Republic  of  China.  I  bought  one  myself  and  successfully  smuggled  it  back 
into  the  country. 

Some  disturbing  news  whilst  in  Singapore:  I  saw  my  friend  from  the  Botanic  Gardens 
a  few  times,  and  Mahmud  told  me  that  all  of  the  Nepenthes  in  the  secondary  jungle 
where  he  had  taken  me  out  collecting  the  year  before  were  gone.  They  had  all  been 
eradicated  by  the  government.  This  is  really  mind-boggling  if  you  could  have  seen 
their  numbers  and  how  gorgeous  they  looked  in  their  natural  splendor.  It  is  really 
sad  that  where  people  are  breaking  their  necks  to  get  Nepenthes  there  are  none; 
where  they  are  reasonably  common  and  no  one  grows  them,  they  are  out  to  destroy  them 
all.  Perhaps  CPN  readers  might  be  interested  in  Mahmud's  name  and  address:  Mahmud 
Bin  Awang,  C/0  Botanic  Gardens,  Cluny  Road,  Singapore  10,  Republic  of  Singapore. 

They  would  have  to  buy  the  plants  from  him,  but  I  would  say  they  would  not  want  to 
wait  too  long  or  there  might  be  none  left  for  him  to  collect. 

MICHAEL  HUNT  writes:  I  had  the  chance  to  visit  a  relic  bog  in  the  mountains  of 
northwestern  Virginia.  I  was  told  one  could  find  D.  rotundi folia  and  S.  purpurea 
purpurea  in  this  bog.  I  was  not  prepared  to  go  into  the  bog  itself  so  I  confined 
all  of  my  observations  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  bog,  which  was  bordered  by  a  stream. 
Sphagnum  grew  very  lushly  on  both  sides  of  the  bog  and  formed  a  thick  carpet  through¬ 
out.  The  only  CP  I  could  find,  however,  was  Utricularia ,  which  was  growing  in  scat¬ 
tered  clumps  in  parts  of  the  stream.  I  think  this  Utricularia  to  be  U.  intermedia , 
but  I'm  not  sure.  I  did  take  home  a  small  clump  of  sphagnum  for  closer  study. 

After  about  three  months  the  clump  was  covered  with  D .  rotundi folia ,  which  proved 
that  this  Drosera  was  growing  after  all  in  this  fairly  large  bog  even  though  I  did 
not  see  it  at  first,  nor  did  I  ever  find  S.  purpurea  purpurea.  The  next  time  I'm 
in  this  region  I  plan  to  give  this  area  closer  attention. 

The  new  book,  The  Swamp,  by  Bill  Thomas  published  by  W.  W.  Norton  &  Company  is  a 
very  interesting  book.  It  sells  for  $24.95  and  has  over  300  color  photos.  This 
book  goes  into  great  detail  about  many  large  swamps  in  the  United  States.  It  has 
many  interesting  photos  of  CP,  including  Sarracenia,  Utricularia ,  and  Drosera.  But 
by  far  the  best  photo  is  that  of  a  prairie  in  the  Okefenokee  Swamp  of  Georgia.  This 
spectacular  photo  is  that  of  a  huge  stand  of  many  hundreds  of  U.  inflata  in  flower 
and  covers  two  pages.  This  book  will  prove  to  be  most  interesting  to  those  with 
interests  in  swamps. 


32 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


DON  SCHNELL  writes:  I'm  glad  everyone  received  their  Nepenthes  cuttings  in  good 
order.  The  reason  for  the  large  quantity  of  Nepenthes  gracilis  being  sent  out  is 
because  this  plant  grows  like  a  weed.  We  also  receive  many  questions  regarding  the 
availability  of  plants  such  as  N.  x  Dicksoniana ,  x  dyeriana,  rafflesiana  and 
ampullaria.  These  plants  have  short  internodes  and  although  they  are  growing 
superbly  here,  they  are  slow  growers  with  little  prunable  stem  elongation.  When 
they  do  get  long  enough  to  cut,  the  lower  stem  is  getting  woody  and  it  is  time  to 
restart  new  top  cuttings,  hence  I  seldom  let  them  go,  although  slowly  over  a  period 
of  years  I  arrive  at  a  point  where  there  are  three  or  four  excess  rooted  cuttings 
to  give  away.  Nepenthes  ampullaria  also  grows  slowly  and  I  keep  it  in  fluorescent 
terraria  indoors  since  it  does  not  seem  to  take  the  heat  and  sunlight  in  this  part 
of  the  country  as  well  as  other  species. 

PHILIP  THOMAS  writes:  After  rereading  the  article  in  CPN  VI,  (1),  7  (1977)  on  the 
exchange,  I'm  not  sure  that  I  understand  it  clearly.  I  hope  that  I  am  not  misinter¬ 
preting  it  when  it  states  that  the  list  will  show  what  plants  that  you  own  ("simple 
inventory")  and  that  it  will  not  tell  whether  or  not  you  have  plants  and/or  seeds 
for  trade.  This  will  be  absolutely  terrible!!!  If,  for  instance,  someone  had  to 
list  all  his  plants  for  trade  in  the  "Want  Ads,"  it  would  cost  him  a  small  fortune, 
and  with  only  10  entries  per  person,  it  would  take  two  volumes  worth  of  CPNs  to  com¬ 
plete  his  trading  inventory.  It  is  such  a  convenience  now,  I  would  utterly  go  mad 

if  I  did  not  know  who  had  what  to  trade.  It  would  defeat  the  whole  purpose  of  the 

"Exchange"  which  would  then  have  to  be  changed  to  a  "List."  What  good  would  it  do 
for  anyone? 

I  am  strongly  opposed  to  this,  if  in  fact  it  is  actually  what  is  going  to  happen, 

and  I  hope  that  other  CPN  members  let  you  know.  If  it  is  not  going  to  change  from 

its  present  way  of  operation,  you  need  to  write  a  short  note  of  explanation  for 
misled  people  like  me. 

ED:  The  changes  the  editors  are  making  in  the  seed-plant  exchange  setup  are  the 

result  of  observing  the  results  of  the  present  setup,  reading  and  hearing  many  com¬ 
ments  about  it,  and  about  a  year  of  discussion  among  the  editors  and  present  custo¬ 
dians  of  the  exchange.  What  we  have  proposed  for  trial  is  certainly  not  permanently 
engraved  in  stone:  we  have  no  doubt  that  additional  modif iciations  will  be  necessary, 
and--depending  on  total  response — possibly  returning  to  a  system  much  like  the  pre¬ 
ceding  one  if  necessary.  We  therefore  encourage  all  readers  to  follow  suit  with 
Philip  Thomas  and  let  us  know  how  you  feel.  However,  we  would  respectfully  ask  that 
you  give  the  system  a  try  for  a  year  or  so  in  order  that  your  remarks--positive  or 
negative--will  be  backed  by  some  experience.  The  individual  chosen  to  be  in  charge 
of  the  CPN  seed  bank  is  charged  with  answering  all  correspondence  within  a  few  days 
(barring  illness  and  vacation)  and  submitting  a  complete  list  of  what  is  in  the 
bank  for  each  issue  of  CPN.  Thus  the  readers  will  be  promptly  and  completely  in¬ 
formed  of  the  seed  situation  without  having  to  ask  or  guess.  The  fine  horticultural 
list  that  Bob  Ziemer  has  worked  so  hard  to  develop  will  continue  as  such  and  will  be 
available  for  cost  purchase — we  feel  it  is  quite  necessary  to  know  what  is  in  culti¬ 
vation.  The  list  will  be  sans  triangles,  circles,  underlines,  etc.  Finally,  the 
want-ads  (the  charge  is  very  modest)  will  feature  only  those  people  who  really  have 
something  to  trade  or  sell,  and  those  who  wish  something  to  trade  or  sell,  and  they 
may  contact  each  other  directly  to  work  things  out.  A  rough  check  of  triangles, 
circles,  etc.  of  the  last  exchange  list  under  the  old  system  indicates  that  if  all 
people  (unlikely)  list  all  such  indicated  material  in  the  want-ads,  it  would  not  fill 
an  issue  or  for  that  matter  more  than  a  page  and  a  half  of  a  CPN  issue,  and  then 
would  be  pure  concentrated  exchange-selling  information. 

GLENN  CLAUDI-MAGNUSSEN  writes:  I  also  had  an  idea  about  how  to  lessen  the  cost  of 
CPN.  I  felt  that  the  price  for  the  Want  Ads  could  be  raised  slightly  and  also  that 
you  should  allow  companies  to  have  ads  about  CPs,  CP  books,  terrariums,  etc.  I 
think  that  you  could  get  extra  money  to  improve  CPN. 

MAKOTO  HONDA  writes  in  to  inform  us  that  the  magazine  "Plants  of  the  World,"  which 
he  mentioned  in  the  last  issue  (Vol.  VI,  5)  is  now  available  from  the  publisher. 

There  are  two  issues,  #64  and  #9,  which  deal  with  CP.  The  photos  are  of  suitable 
quality  for  framing  and  most  of  them  are  8  x  10  inches  in  size  or  larger.  Issue 
#9  deals  with  Pinguicula  and  Utricularia,  while  issue  #64  deals  with  Nepenthes } 
Sarracenia  and  Darlingtonia  as  well  as  Japanese  Drosera  species.  Each  issue  costs 
about  $1.20  plus  $.80  postage  or  a  total  of  two  ($2.00)  dollars  each  (surface  mail) . 
Please  send  all  requests  to  the  following  address: 

ASAHI  SHIMBUN  PUBLICATIONS  DEPT. 

Tokyo  Headquarters 

2-6-1  Yuraku-cho,  Chiyoda-ku 

Tokyo,  100,  JAPAN 


Vol .  VI,  No,  2 


CPN 


33 


LARRY  MELLICHAMP  writes:  Because  Darlingtonia  is  considered  difficult  to  grow  in 
parts  of  the  country  outside  its  native  Pacific  Northwest,  Joe  and  Don  thought  it 
noteworthy  that  I  have  three  very  healthy  plants  which  I  have  maintained  for  the 
past  2-3  years  here  in  the  east.  In  spring  1975  Bob  Ziemer  sent  me  2-3  plants,  and 
then  I  collected  2-3  more  when  I  was  in  northwestern  California  in  August  1975. 

These  plants  were  potted  in  a  mixture  of  half  peat,  half  silica  sand  and  kept  at 
the  University  of  Michigan  Botanical  Gardens  in  Ann  Arbor  along  with  the  Sarra- 
aenias  and  other  CP.  They  were  kept  outdoors  in  full  summer  during  the  summers 
(which  can  get  hot  in  southeastern  Michigan)  with  rather  minimal  daily  watering 
with  distilled  water.  During  the  winter  they  were  kept  indoors  in  a  cool  greenhouse 
where  the  temperature  was  around  35-40°F.  During  1-1/2  years,  only  one  plant  myster¬ 
iously  died.  In  August  1976  three  plants  were  brought  down  with  me  to  Charlotte, 
North  Carolina,  along  with  other  Sarraaenia  and  CP.  They  were  still  given  full  sun 
(with  a  little  morning  and  afternoon  shading)  and  more  frequent  watering  with  tap 
water,  which  has  produced  no  harm.  Winter  storage  for  all  CP  here  is  cold  green¬ 
house  with  a  minimum  of  30-35°F.  This  past  spring  (1977)  two  of  the  Darlingtonia 
flowered  beautifully,  I  cross-pollinated  them,  and  now  have  a  large  seed-pod  forming 
on  one.  New,  strong  pitchers  (almost  15"  high)  are  being  formed,  the  largest  in 
three  years;  and  one  plant  is  sending  out  new  shoots  around  the  top  of  the  pot  and 
out  through  the  drainage  holes  in  the  bottom.  Prolific  rascal!  I  do  not  know  what 
I  am  doing  right  or  wrong,  but  I'm  going  to  try  not  to  change.  I  am  anxious  to  see 
how  they  survive  another  hot  summer,  and  am  tempted  to  put  one  in  a  controlled 
environment  chamber  and  keep  it  cooler,  just  as  insurance  against  loss  due  to  heat. 

It  will  also  be  interesting  to  compare  with  outside-grown  plants.  Perhaps  the  daily 
watering  with  cool  pipe-water  is  significant,  although  in  Michigan  they  are  watered 
with  room  temperature  water.  Seedlings  germinated  in  1975  and  kept  under  more  shaded 
conditions  have  grown  very  little  since  then.  Perhaps  I  have  selected  some  heat 
tolerant  strain  of  Darlingtonia-- it  certainly  seems  to  be  thriving  here.  I  will 
donate  the  seed  pod  to  the  seed  exchange. 

JIM  KOROLAS  writes:  In  Ontario,  Canada,  Sarraaenia  purpurea  shows  three  varieties 
which  are:  S.  purpurea  forma  heterophy lla ,  S.  purpurea  var.  riplicola  (Boivin)  and 
S.  purpurea  var.  terrae-novae  (Pylaio) .  So  what's  the  difference?  Well,  all  CPNers 
should  know  that  S.  purpurea  forma  heterophylla  is  yellowish  or  golden  yellow  in 
color,  never  showing  any  red  coloration  in  the  veins.  Whereas,  S.  purpurea  var. 
ripiaola  and  S.  purpurea  var.  terrae-novae  are  identical  in  coloration  with  the  dif¬ 
ference  being  pitcher  size;  the  former  plant  variant  has  pitchers  averaging  about 
7.62  cm  (3")  while  the  latter  variant  grows  in  extremely  acidic  bogs  with  pitcher 
size  averaging  about  17.78  cm  (7"). 

For  those  CPNers  who  want  to  see  S.  purp .  var.  terrae-novae  and  live  near  Toronto, 
there  is  only  one  bog  that  I  know  of  and  had  the  chance  to  visit.  The  bog  is 
located  on  Etobicoke  Creek,  the  border  between  Mississaiga  and  Toronto  north  of 
Lakeshore  Blvd.  If  you  visit  this  bog,  if  it's  still  there,  please  DO  NOT  collect 
the  plants  as  they  are  not  holding  very  well.  However,  I  have  noticed  a  good  stand 
of  Drosera  rotundif olia  in  this  bog. 

Ed.  not e--Further  editorial  discussion  with  the  author  confirms  that  indeed  the 
plants  described  as  S.  purpurea  ssp.  purpurea  f.  heterophylla  are  the  real  thing. 

This  is  a  notable  range  extension.  He  noted  four  plants  in  a  bog  of  80  red  forms. 

The  heterophylla  forms  fit  all  criteria.  D.S. 

PAUL  LEWIS  writes:  I  have  grown  CP  over  sixteen  years  and  have  been  fascinated  by 
their  different  methods  of  capture  but  Utricularias  topped  them  all  despite  their 
tiny  size.  A  friend  of  mine  moved  to  Fairfield,  Texas  (in  Freestone  County) ,  from 
Tulsa  in  March  of  1976,  and  I  got  the  chance  to  see  him  in  August.  I  knew  Drosera 
hrevif olia,  Sarraaenia  alata  and  Utriaularia  intermedia  grew  in  east  Texas.  So,  one 
morning,  when  we  went  fishing,  I  hunted  for  CP  (fishing  I  could  take  or  leave) .  We 
went  to  Red  Lake,  18  mi.  east  of  Fairfield.  I  quickly  spotted  U.  intermedia.  There 
were  millions  of  little  yellow  blooms,  the  middle  of  the  bract  was  attached  to  the 
peduncle  which  was  2-3"  high,  bearing  from  2-5  yellow  flowers.  These  plants  com¬ 
pletely  surrounded  the  lake  (about  1/4  mile  long  and  from  150-200  feet  wide) .  Words 
could  not  express  the  satisfaction  felt  when  finding  CP  in  the  field,  especially  for 
the  first  time,  even  though  I've  grown  CP  over  half  my  life.  I  could  not  find 
D.  brevi folia  or  Sarraaenia  alata  at  that  site  even  though  humidity  was  quite  high 
due  to  a  large  lake  sitting  in  a  valley.  I  measured  the  water  pH  and  the  reading 
was  weakly  acid  (6.8)  and  the  soil  (6.6).  I'll  try  to  find  these  two  species  next 
time . 


34 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


PHILIP  SHERIDAN  writes:  First  of  all,  I  bought  a  P.  oaerulea  from  C.E.G.  and  one 
of  the  leaves  has  developed  into  sort  of  a  "Y"  shape.  I  guess  you  would  call  it  a 
binate  Pinguicula  leaf.  I'll  try  to  get  a  photo  of  it  and  send  it  in  to  you.  It 
is  really  quite  interesting. 

An  interesting  device  for  growing  CP  that  really  require  a  high  humidity  is  an 
aquarium- terrarium.  It  is  sold  by  Aqua  Engineers.  It  comes  with  only  one  fluor¬ 
escent  light  fixture;  I  have  been  able  to  fit  in  another  one.  I'm  just  letting  the 
sphagnum  grow  right  now,  but  I  plan  to  start  some  Nepenthes  seeds  in  there  and  also 
grow  another  tropical  CP. 

Now  here  is  the  really  big  thing  I  wanted  to  tell  you.  My  friends  Mike  Hunt  and 
Geoffrey  Goodrum  are  going  to  start  a  CP  club!  We  still  haven't  thought  up  a  name 
yet,  but  we'd  greatly  appreciate  it  if  you  would  put  a  notice  in  CPN  telling  all 
interested  people  to  write  to  me  and  suggest  a  suitable  place  for  meeting  and  any 
other  information  that  would  help  us  really  get  our  club  rolling.  We  need  a  good 
name  for  the  club,  ideas  on  field  trips,  etc.  (Philip  Sheridan,  5729  S.  2nd  Street, 
Arlington,  VA  22204) 

PETER  TAYLOR  has  pointed  out  that  the  SEM  U trioularia  trap  cover  photo  on  the 
December,  1976,  issue  (CPN  V:53)  is  not  Utricularia  oornuta  but  possibly  U.  subu- 
lata.  We  have  rechecked  with  the  photographer  who  states  he  received  the  specimen 
(which  has  never  flowered  for  him)  from  a  commercial  nursery  as  U.  oornuta,  but 
that  the  same  nursery  also  offers  U.  subulata,  so  contamination  of  the  culture  was 
likely.  Peter  Taylor  states  the  photo  of  U.  oornuta  traps  in  Lloyd  is  correctly 
labeled.  There  certainly  is  a  marked  difference  in  that  U.  oornuta  lacks  appen¬ 
dages  on  the  upper  lip. 

BRIAN  HENDRIX  writes:  I  just  received  my  first  copy  of  the  Carnivorous  Plant 
Newsletter,  and  I  must  say  I  enjoyed  it  very  much.  You  and  your  associates  pub¬ 
lish  a  fine  newsletter,  as  it  is  both  educational  and  entertaining.  I  would  like 
to  point  out  that  Carolina  Exotic  Gardens  offers  not  only  Sarracenia,  Darlingtonia, 
and  Dionaea,  but  has  Drosera,  Pinguicula,  Utricularia,  and  Nepenthes  as  well. 

Might  I  suggest  that  perhaps  CPN  offer  space  other  than  the  Want-Ads  for  the  various 
Carnivorous  Plant  nurseries.  I'm  sure  they  would  be  willing  to  pay  more  than  the 
price  you  ask  for  the  Want-Ads. 


REVIEW  0_F  RECENT  LITERATURE 

Adams,  R.  M.  and  G.  W.  Smith.  1977.  An  SEM  survey  of  the  five  carnivorous  pitcher 
plant  genera.  Amer.  J.  Bot.  64:265-272. 

Pitcher  SEM  examinations  on  Nepenthes  raf flesiana,  Sarraoenia  purpurea ,  Heliam- 
phora  heterodoxa,  Darlingtonia  oalifornioa  and  Cephalotus  follicularis  were 
done  and  comparative  discussions  undertaken.  The  authors  state  they  tried  to 
arrange  the  photos  for  maximum  clarity  to  both  professional  and  layman.  As  a 
result  of  these  studies,  several  new  features  were  noted  including  previously 
unreported  glands  on  the  peristome  teeth  of  Cephalotus ,  and  the  lack  of  previ¬ 
ously  reported  glands  in  the  smooth  zone  3  of  S.  purpurea.  The  text  and  photos 
are  excellent  and  very  informative.  Serious  CPers  should  get  a  copy  of  the 
paper.  (Reprints:  Richard  Adams  II,  190  Pleasant  Grove,  #M-2,  Ithaca,  NY  14850. 
The  author  informs  us  that  when  his  supply  of  reprints  is  exhausted.  Sun  Dew 
Environments  will  stock  additional  reprints  for  sale.) 

Chandler,  G.  E.  and  J.  W.  Anderson.  Uptake  and  metabolism  of  insect  metabolites  by 
leaves  and  tentacles  of  Drosera  species.  New  Phytol .  77:625-634.  (1976). 

Authors  supplied  Drosera  binata  with  fruit  flies  labelled  with  radioactive  sul¬ 
fate.  Methionine  sulphoxide,  cysteine,  cysteic  acid  and  sulphate  of  the  plant 
was  labelled.  When  labelled  sulfate  alone  was  given  to  the  plant,  a  similar 
labelling  pattern  was  found  except  for  cysteic  acid  which  was  unlabelled.  There 
were  differences  in  sulfur  metabolism  between  field  grown  plants  and  those  grown 
in  axenic  cultures.  The  latter  cultures  didn't  incorporate  sulfur  label  into 
methionine  sulfoxide. 

Frost,  T.  M.  Investigations  of  the  aufwuchs  of  freshwater  sponges:  I.  A  quantitative 
comparison  between  the  surfaces  of  Spongilla  lacustris  and  three  aquatic  mac¬ 
rophytes.  Hydrobiologia  50  (  2)  : 145-149 .  1976. 

The  author  describes  the  aufwuchs  of  the  freshwater  sponge  and  the  reduced  num¬ 
ber  in  comparison  with  other  plants,  namely  Utricularia. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


CPN 


35 


SARRACENIA  -  TOUR  DELUXE 

by  Dave  Kutt 

It  was  September  19th  and  autumn  was  well  on  its  way.  Ed  Orris  joined  me  in  southern 
Illinois  and  we  departed  for  along  ride  to  Waycross,  Georgia  and  the  Luara  S.  Walker 
State  Park.  This  facility  has  always  provided  a  conveniently  close  campground  for  an 
overnight  stay  near  the  borderlines  of  the  Okefenokee  Swamp  Park  itself.  This  time  it 
was  no  exception. 

Upon  arriving  at  the  Waycross  area  we  first  noticed  Pinguicula  caerulea  plants  growing 
on  grassy,  sunny,  slanted  banks  which  usually  bordered  drainage  ditch  areas.  Along 
with  the  Pinguicula  but  less  conspicuous  at  a  fast  glance  were  two  small  members  of  the 
Utricularia  fibrosa  complex.  One  type  displayed  a  1/4"  wide  yellow  flower  on  a  six  or 
eight  inch  tall  scape.  The  other  type,  probably  Utricularia  olivacea,  was  very  tiny, 
perhaps  1/4  to  one  inch  tall,  and  had  a  very  tiny  pale  yellow  flower.  In  the  shallow 
drainage  ditch  waters,  we  also  noticed  the  pale  purple  flecks  of  Utricularia  purpurea 
flowers.  The  opposite  side  of  those  same  drainage  ditches  contained  Sarracenia  minor 
plants  of  the  Okefenokee  area  which  grow  much  larger  than  S.  minor  found  anywhere  else. 
The  plants  were  entering  their  dormancy  and  displayed  ripe  seed  pods.  Some  had  solid 
red  pitcher  coloration  and  most  of  them  had  dark  red  hues  on  the  underside  of  the 
pitcher  hood  and  on  the  pitcher  "lip".  Many  of  them  also  approached  or  even  exceeded 
three  feet  in  height!  These  plants  grow  with  a  vertical  rhizome  terminating  in  an 
apex.  Often,  clonal  clusters  form  and  grow  up  out  of  the  shallow  water.  Sarracenia 
minor  found  elsewhere  do  not  characteristically  grow  in  water.  Instead,  they  usually 
occur  in  well-drained  situations.  All  of  the  "Okee"  S.  minor  that  we  saw  were  in  sat¬ 
urated  mud  and  often  were  submerged  to  just  above  their  apex.  All  of  the  larger  plants 
grew  with  their  apex  submerged.  The  banks  themselves,  in  addition  to  the  Pinguicula, 
were  covered  everywhere  with  Drosera  capillaris .  These  plants  were  all  positioned  to 
receive  full  sun  most  of  the  day. 

We  visited  the  Okefenokee  Swamp  Park  to  see  their  pavillion  with  a  room  dedicated  pri¬ 
marily  to  the  insectivorous  plants  of  the  swamp.  An  interesting  group  of  pavillions 
and  displays  show  much  about  the  swamp's  natural  ecology  and  wildlife,  and  among  other 
things,  it  features  freeze-dried,  airbrush  painted  Sarracenia  plants!  We  were  eager  to 
boat  back  into  the  depths  of  the  swamps  for  a  closer  look. 

To  do  this,  it  was  necessary  to  drive  26  miles  south  to  the  Okefenokee  National  Wild¬ 
life  Refuge  near  Folkston  at  the  southeast  end  of  the  swamp.  There  you  can  rent  a 
canoe  or  motor  boat  (we  chose  the  latter)  for  a  day  at  a  reasonable  cost.  As  we  motored 
into  the  humid  swamp,  we  were  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  alligators  and  poisonous 
snakes,  but  we  saw  very  little  of  the  reptile  life  other  than  an  alligator  or  two.  Sev¬ 
eral  areas  on  the  swamp  map  provided  are  designated  as  prairies  and  we  headed  for 
"Chesser"  and  "Grand  Prairie"  which  were  known  areas  of  the  giant  Sarracenia  minor. 
Several  times,  floating  detached  masses  of  Utricularia  purpurea  almost  clogged  our 
engine's  cooling-water  intake  port.  I  never  thought  I'd  be  scared  by  a  Utricularia 
but  Ed  and  I  were  warned  that  a  clog  could  soon  blow  a  headgasket  and  we  were  14  miles 
into  the  swamp!  It  all  turned  out  without  mishap  though,  and  we  did  find  large  Sarra¬ 
cenia  minor  sparsely  populating  the  border  areas  of  deep  swamp  grasses  in  "Grand  Prai¬ 
rie".  We  were  unable  to  deeply  penetrate  any  of  the  semi-solid  land  (floating  vegeta¬ 
tive  masses)  on  foot,  but  it  all  appeared  to  be  basically  suitable  habitat  for  this 
pitcher  plant.  Although,  we  were  also  looking  for  Sarracenia  psittacina  and  possible 
S.  x  formosa  hybrids,  these  didn't  turn  up  until  later  that  day  along  solid  land  areas 
adjacent  to  Chesser  Island.  Before  leaving  the  swamp  area,  we  climbed  an  observation 
tower  for  an  overhead  view  of  the  swamp  and  saw  more  S.  minor,  sphagnum  moss  and  bog 
plants  as  well  as  an  alligator  nest  from  the  scenic  "boardwalk  into  the  swamp"  at 
Chesser  Island.  It  was  all  very  interesting  and  unique  enough  to  be  well  worth  our 
additional  time. 

As  we  continued  our  trip  south  and  west  into  eastern  Florida,  we  saw  no  Sarracenias 
for  a  while.  We  noticed  a  lot  of  Pinguicula  caerulea  and  always  the  Drosera  capillaris 
growing  everywhere.  One  place  had  a  massive  display  of  Utricularia  purpurea  growing 
very  profusely  in  a  roadside  drainage  ditch  along  route  121.  Eventually,  we  saw  Sarra¬ 
cenia  minor  again  in  sparse  patches  amongst  the  grass  and  weeds  by  the  roadside.  This 
time  it  was  the  typical,  rather  small  type,  quite  different  from  the  huge  Okefenokee 
plants  seen  earlier.  They  grew  in  moist  to  wet  coastal  plain  soil  comprised  of  mostly 
white  silica  sand  with  a  small  percentage  of  organic  debris.  These  plants  also  occurred 
in  full  sun.  Finally,  we  camped  for  the  night  in  Lake  City,  Florida. 

We  headed  for  the  western  Florida  panhandle  along  U.S.  route  98  and  soon  saw  several 
areas  containing  Drosera  filiformis  tracyi  and  a  very  large  form  of  Pinguicula  lutea 
which  could  easily  be  mistaken  for  P.  caerulea  should  it  be  found  when  not  in  flower. 
They  were  not  in  flower  in  late  September  but  on  a  previous  trip  with  Rich  Sivertsen, 


36 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


I  have  seen  them  in  flower  in  late  April.  As  for  the  Drosera  tracyii,  when  heading 
west  in  Florida,  this  plant  is  seen  fairly  often  in  many  habitat  areas  all  the  way 
through  Mississippi.  Later  near  Carabelle,  Florida,  we  found  large  succulent  Pingui- 
cula  ionantha  plants  growing  in  black  mud  and  even  under  water!  Some  of  these  plants 
were  huge — some  in  excess  of  six  inches  in  diameter  and  proved  to  be  larger  than  any 
other  Pinguieula  species  we  saw  on  our  trip.  They  were  often  overgrown  partially  by 
grasses,  but  were  otherwise  growing  in  full  sun.  The  very  wet  ground  conditions  in 
addition  to  the  sparse  grass  cover  provided  very  high  humidity  levels  near  the 
ground,  thus  providing  a  super-humid  "micro-environment"  for  the  Pinguieula  plants. 
There  was  no  evidence  of  Pinguieula  planif olia  seen  here  only  two  years  earlier. 

We  continued  on  a  south-west  course  on  Florida  Rt.  98/319  until  we  reached  Florida 
Rt .  71  North.  Along  route  71,  more  P.  ionantha  were  seen  on  back  roads  along  with 
S.  psittaeina.  There  were  also  savannah  areas  containing  Sarracenia  flava  very  near¬ 
by  and  we  were  disgusted  with  what  we  saw  there.  A  large,  deep  drainage  ditch  sur¬ 
rounded  the  grassy  moist  Sarracenia  savannah.  One  half  of  the  habitat  area  had  been 
drained  and  plowed  under  already  and  was  completely  dried  and  lifeless.  The  other 
adjacent  half  had  the  remainder  of  a  once  large  Sarracenia  flava  population.  Some 
of  the  plants  were  huge  and  yellow-green  with  only  the  Florida-typical  maroon  patch 
at  the  throat.  Others  were  smaller  with  red  veins  and  large  lids.  Still  others 
seemed  to  combine  all  these  qualities.  Most  of  the  plants  were  large,  nearly  three 
feet  tall,  and  were  mostly  very  bright  yellow  or  browned  out  depicting  various  stages 
into  dormancy.  It  seemed  to  be  a  doomed  habitat,  as  drainage  was  already  in  process 
for  this  station  too. 

We  got  off  U.S.  Rt.  71  and  headed  north  for  U.S.  Rt .  90  on  a  random  exploratory 
course  using  smaller  roads.  There  we  found  our  first  traces  of  Sarracenia  leuco- 
phylla  growing  with  S.  psittaeina  in  wet  roadside  areas.  The  Sarracenia  psittaeina 
was  very  profuse  in  all  stages  of  development  from  seedling  to  adult.  Later,  we 
camped  in  Marianna  for  the  night. 

The  next  morning,  we  went  west  on  U.S.  Rt.  90  where  after  a  short  walk  we  located 
an  isolated  bog  near  Crestview  not  visible  from  the  road.  This  hidden  area  was  a 
good  example  of  a  natural  insectivorous  garden.  Here  in  one  small  area  we  found 
S.  purpurea  venosa,  S.  psittaeina ,  S.  flava  (the  vast  majority) ,  S.  rubra  and 
S.  leucophylla.  The  F-l  hybrids  were  S.  rubra  x  leucophylla,  S.  purpurea  x  flava, 

S.  flava  x  leucophylla  and  S.  psittaeina  x  rubra.  Other  hybrids  that  were  mainly 
backcrosses  were  present  also.  This  same  area  also  contained  Drosera  traeyi, 

D.  capillaris ,  D.  intermedia,  Utricularia  purpurea  and  Pinguieula  eaerulea.  All 
plants  grew  in  nearly  pure  white  silica  sand,  moist  to  wet  and  in  full  sun.  Some 
of  the  Pinguieula  here  seemed  to  back  out  of  the  direct  sunlight  into  the  mottled 
shade  provided  by  pine  trees  at  this  habitat's  outer  border.  This  site  seemed  to 
be  a  meeting  point  for  the  habitat  ranges  of  many  Sarracenia  species. 

A  bit  further  west  at  the  Yellow  River  we  observed  primarily  S.  leucophylla  and 
its  many  hybrids  with  S.  rubra  and  S.  flava.  The  lower  levels  of  the  wet,  tall 
grass  were  occupied  by  S.  rubra  and  S.  psittaeina ,  S.  rubra  hybrids  and  Pinguieula 
planif  olia  with  beautiful  maroon  colored  foliage.  Scattered  S.  flava  were  a  definite 
minority  here,  but  a  few  were  present.  Many  other  hybrid  backcrosses  were  again 
evident  here  in  various  shapes  and  sizes. 

The  following  day  we  went  to  Alabama  where  we  found  huge  S.  purpurea  venosa  plants 
growing  with  S.  leucophylla  and  mitehelliana  hybrids  amongst  the  tall  grass  in  flat 
dished  areas.  Then  in  Baldwin  Co.,  Alabama,  we  witness  almost  solitary  stands  of 
S.  leucophylla  which  literally  covered  acres  of  land.  A  very  close  examination 
revealed  also  S.  psittaeina  which  took  advantage  of  the  ground-level  insect  life. 

Our  visit  to  southern  Alabama  was  fairly  brief  and  was  terminated  after  examining 
a  few  grassy,  flat  bogs  in  the  western  portion  along  the  coast.  Here  we  turned  up 
a  lot  of  Sarracenia  alata  with  a  very  few  S.  purpurea  present  and  the  resulting  F-l 
hybrids  of  S.  alata  x  purpurea  here  and  there  in  the  tall  grass.  A  few  of  the 
"Gulf"  5.  rubra  were  seen  here  as  well  and  also  a  very  interesting  and  very  pale 
form  of  P.  planif olia .  The  S.  alata  with  the  dark  red  inner  lining  was  seen  here 
as  well  as  bright  yellow  forms  and  heavily  veined  forms.  Many  S.  alata  x  S.  leueo- 
phylla  hybrids  were  seen  here  too.  Indeed,  once  the  S.  alata  range  really  begins, 
pure  S.  leucophylla  is  just  about  impossible  to  find! 

Finally,  we  headed  to  north-eastern  Alabama  to  view  a  remaining  stand  of  the  rare 
Sarracenia  oreophila.  This  site  is  next  to  a  small  pond  and  once  you  get  past  the 
cows,  the  plants  can  be  found  amongst  tall  weeds  at  the  far  side.  Wild  daisies 
and  very  tall  weeds  had  all  but  completely  overgrown  the  now  dormant  S.  oreophila 
plants.  Many  of  the  plants  were  attempting  to  grow  up  through  the  large  woody 
shrubs.  Their  rhizomes  were  entangled  in  the  shrubs  root  systems.  We  gathered 


Volume  VI,  No.  2 


CPN 


37 


seed  from  some  of  the  plants  and  rescued  a  very  few  plants  from  being  choked  out  by 
the  bushes.  The  S.  oreophila  plants  here  occur  in  a  strange,  hard  clay  soil  contain¬ 
ing  very  fine  silica  sand.  The  area  was  void  of  apparent  pine  bogs  or  savannahs  or 
habitats  which  seemed  typical  of  CP.  In  fact,  the  majority  of  the  trees  in  the  area 
were  deciduous. 

In  summary,  we  travelled  about  2,550  miles  in  our  car  and  a  few  more  on  foot.  Al¬ 
though  some  plant  collecting  was  done,  we  collected  sparingly  and  concentrated  more 
on  acquiring  seed  and  good  photographs.  Don’t  let  the  descriptions  in  this  report 
mislead  you  into  believing  that  Sarracenia  occurs  everywhere  in  the  south  in  great 
abundance.  They  do  not.  Throughout  the  coastal  states  only  highly  specialized 
habitat  areas  allow  these  plants  to  exist  at  all  and  these  habitat  areas  are  quickly 
vanishing  forever  for  one  reason  or  another.  Many  of  the  even  recently  CP  populated 
areas  are  now  void  of  these  plants.  The  larger  stands  of  these  plants  took  many 
years  to  spread  and  establish  and  unfortunately,  new  habitat  areas  do  not  usually 
replace  the  ones  that  are  lost. 


DROSERAS  OF  THE  NEW  FOREST 

by  David  W.  Taylor 

The  New  Forest  in  unique  in  the  world  for  its  historical  interest,  its  rare  animals 
and  plants  and  its  living  traditions.  It  was  created  by  William  1  about  AD  1079, 
and  it  lies  in  the  county  of  Hampshire  down  in  the  south  west  corner  of  England. 

It  is  an  area  of  outstanding  beauty  which  is  visited  by  millions  of  people  every 
year . 

There  are  three  distinct  types  of  vegatation  in  this  vast  area  of  land:  heathland 
with  self  sown  Scots  pine  and  birch,  heather,  gorse,  and  grasses:  woodland  contain¬ 
ing  many  thousands  of  trees  such  as  beech,  oak,  and  yew;  and  last  of  all,  marshlands 
with  large  wild  areas  of  peat  and  sphagnum  bogs. 

The  bogs  are  many  in  number,  and  have  magical  names  such  as  Bishops  Dyke,  Black 
Gutter  Bottom,  and  Duck  Hole  Bog.  The  forest  itself  is  situated  about  one  hundred 
miles  from  the  center  of  London,  and  is  easily  reached  by  the  modern  motorway. 

It  was  in  late  August  when  I  drove  with  my  wife  Diana  and  four  children  down  to 
Everton,  which  is  a  small  country  village  which  lies  just  outside  the  forest  area. 

We  are  very  fortunate  in  the  fact  that  my  wife's  parents  own  a  retirement  cottage 
in  Everton,  and  that  we  are  able  to  go  there  for  the  occasional  week-end.  From 
this  vantage  point,  it  is  only  a  short  car  ride  to  many  of  the  beautiful  forest 
attractions.  As  it  happened,  this  particular  week-end  turned  out  to  be  a  bank 
holiday,  and  there  were  many  tourists  and  campers  that  had  made  the  trip  down  with 
us.  A  good  number  of  them  were  at  the  local  carnival  that  was  held  on  the  Saturday. 

The  following  day  after  a  good  breakfast,  I  set  off  with  my  packed  lunch  on  the 
long  awaited  field  trip  in  search  of  the  three  Droseras  native  to  this  country, 
and  known  to  be  found  in  the  New  Forest  area.  Earlier  in  the  summer,  I  had  been 
lucky  enough  to  borrow  a  very  old  book  from  a  botanist  friend  of  mine.  This  was 
on  the  flora  of  Hampshire.  Every  major  county  in  England  has  at  one  time  or  other 
had  a  county  flora  book  published.  Unfortunately,  many  of  them  are  old  and  very 
much  out  of  date,  and  the  Hampshire  book  was  a  prime  example.  However,  the  book 
had  told  me  of  the  colonies  of  Drosera  that  were  growing  in  the  forest  bogs.  My 
main  interest  was  to  find  D.  anglica,  as  I  had  already  found  rotundifolia  and 
intermedia  on  an  earlier  visit.  I  was  informed  by  the  book  that  this  plant  was 
to  be  found  in  great  numbers  in  an  area  of  the  forest  known  as  the  Rhinefield,  and 
particularly  in  bogs  under  the  names  of  Holmsley,  Wiverley,  and  Hinchelsea.  It  was 
stated  that  D.  anglica  could  be  found  in  abundance  in  Hinchelsea  bog  way  back  in 
1899.  This  bit  of  information  did  not  deter  me  too  much,  as  I  knew  that  these  wild 
boggy  lands  had  probably  remained  unchanged  for  hundreds  of  years.  Although  I  did 
not  expect  to  find  the  abundance  of  plants  as  described  in  the  book,  I  felt  that  I 
would  find  at  least  a  few  scattered  here  and  there.  The  Rhinefield  area  was  only 
a  matter  of  about  four  miles  from  the  cottage,  and  I  soon  arrived  at  the  small 
stoney  car-park.  In  all  parts  of  the  New  Forest,  there  are  special  walks  that  are 
purposely  planned  by  the  forest  authorities  for  the  public's  convenience.  The  walks 
are  planned  to  take  you  through  the  most  interesting  parts  of  any  one  particular 
area  so  that  anything  of  specific  interest  can  clearly  be  seen. 


38 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


Having  parked  the  car,  I  started  my  walk  down  the  long  and  stoney  foot-path  that 
twisted  its  way  straight  through  the  middle  of  the  Hinchelsea  bog.  The  whole  area 
was  one  big  dip  which  rose  up  on  the  other  side  into  woodland  and  pine  forest. 

The  black  peaty  bog  was  either  side  of  the  foot-path,  and  the  occasional  wild  horse 
or  pony  could  be  seen  plodding  through  the  goo  in  search  for  green  vegetation.  I 
walked  half  way  down  the  foot-path  until  I  found  a  slightly  drier  part  of  the  bog 
to  walk  on.  This  was  on  the  left  side  of  the  path,  and  I  was  able  to  penetrate 
about  ten  yards  into  the  bog.  In  my  haste  to  start  this  venture,  the  one  important 
thing  that  I  forgot  to  bring  with  me  was  a  pair  of  water-proof  boots.  All  I  had  on 
my  feet  was  a  pair  of  sandals  that  I  had  worn  all  the  way  through  the  long  hot  summer 
and  had  become  quite  accustomed  to.  Eventually  I  was  forced  to  take  the  sandals  and 
my  socks  off,  and  with  my  trouser  legs  rolled  up,  I  waded  into  the  bog.  I  soon 
noticed  that  there  were  many  plants  of  rotundi f  olia  and  even  more  of  intermedia  in 
the  black  peat  of  the  bog.  A  vast  number  of  the  intermedia  plants  were  of  a  deep 
crimson  colour.  This  was  obviously  due  the  fierce  heat  of  the  sun  that  had  been 
shining  constantly  for  many  days.  The  plants  had  no  shelter  from  the  sun  as  the 
whole  area  was  very  open.  There  was  a  small  area  of  shallow  water  nearby,  which  was 
full  of  reeds  and  with  hummocks  of  sphagnum  around  the  edges.  There  seemed  to  be 
more  rotundi folia  plants  in  the  moss,  whereas  the  intermedia  plants  seemed  to  favour 
the  wet  peaty  areas  of  the  bog.  I  was  a  bit  disappointed  that  there  were  no  signs 
of  the  rarer  anglioa  plants  described  as  being  abundant  in  this  bog.  However,  I  col¬ 
lected  a  few  specimens  of  the  rotundi f olia  and  intermedia  plants  and  trod  my  way 
carefully  back  to  the  foot-path,  first  collecing  my  sandals  and  socks.  I  made  my 
way  up  the  rest  of  the  stoney  foot-path  and  into  the  pine  forest  still  feeling 
despondent  at  not  finding  D.  anglioa.  I  could  have  walked  for  miles,  but  as  the  sky 
was  clouding  over,  I  decided  to  walk  back.  When  I  eventually  reached  the  perimeter 
of  the  bog,  I  thought  perhaps  I  would  explore  the  opposite  side  to  the  part  I  had 
walked  in  earlier  on  in  the  morning.  This  side  of  the  bog  was  about  half  a  mile 
long  and  when  I  finally  reached  the  extreme  end  of  it,  I  found  myself  on  a  new  foot¬ 
path.  This  part  of  the  bog  was  much  wetter  than  the  other  side,  and  a  small  stream 
wound  its  way  into  the  middle  of  it.  The  ground  was  a  mixture  of  very  wet  peat 
intermixed  with  sphagnum,  and  it  was  not  as  flat  as  the  other  side  of  the  bog. 

After  studying  it  for  a  few  minutes,  I  decided  to  cast  aside  my  footwear  once  again 
and  wade  in.  It  was  very  boggy,  but  with  the  help  of  a  broken  off  tree  branch,  I 
was  able  to  walk  in  about  seven  yards.  It  would  have  been  impossible  to  go  any 
further.  There  was  a  lot  of  long  grass  about  and  because  of  this  it  was  difficult 
to  see  much  else.  All  of  a  sudden,  my  eyes  fell  on  something  dewy  and  shining  in 
amongst  the  grasses.  With  much  difficulty,  I  managed  to  squelch  my  way  to  the  spot 
my  eyes  had  rested  on,  and  there  it  was,  Drosera  anglioa  in  full  splendour.  There 
were  quite  a  number  of  plants  scattered  around  the  area,  and  if  I  could  have  gone 
further  into  the  bog,  I  think  I  would  have  found  many  more.  After  having  collected 
a  few  of  these  plants  which  seemed  to  be  the  only  Droseras  there  apart  from  a  few 
spasmodic  intermedia  plants,  I  finally  dragged  myself  from  the  bog.  The  time  was 
one  o'clock,  and  so  I  decided  to  sit  down  and  eat  my  packed  lunch.  After  about 
twenty  minutes  of  sitting  on  the  edge  of  the  bog  in  complete  quietness,  and  having 
seen  only  four  people  in  the  time  I  had  spent  in  Hinchelsea  bog,  I  got  up  and  put 
on  my  foot-wear  once  more.  A  sudden  clap  of  thunder  heralded  my  time  to  depart,  and 
I  slowly  made  my  way  around  the  outer  edge  of  this  wild  and  lonely  land,  and  back  to 
the  car.  As  I  drove  out  of  the  Rhineland,  it  started  to  rain,  but  I  could  not  care, 
for  I  had  found  what  I  had  hoped  to  find  all  in  the  space  of  one  morning,  a  morning 
spent  with  the  Droseras  of  the  New  Forest. 


CONSERVATION  AND  CARNIVOROUS  PLANTS 
by  Landon  T.  Ross 


Introduction 

Almost  everyone  who  is  involved  in  the  study  or  cultivation  of  carnivorous  plants 
is  aware,  to  some  degree,  of  the  urgent  need  for  conservation  efforts.  A  number 
of  taxa  are  on  the  verae  of  extinction,  many  prime  habitats  have  been  destroyed, 
and  numerous  locations  are  in  serious  danger.  This  distressing  situation  has 
been  discussed  many  times  (for  example,  see  Schwartz,  1974,  p.  9?  DeFilipps,  19  , 

Johnson,  1976;  Mazrimas  and  Schnell,  1976;  and  Schnell,  1976,  p.  9)  and  I  will  not 
belabor  it  here.  Instead,  I  will  try  to  offer  some  recommendations  on  how  to  be  a 
CP  enthusiast  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  benefit  to  future  scholars,  hobbyists,  and 
the  plants  themselves.  These  are,  of  course,  my  personal  opinions  which  do  not 
necessarily  exactly  reflect  the  views  of  the  editors  or  the  policies  of  CPN. 


Volume  VI,  No.  2 


CPN 


39 


Field  Collecting 

1.  Never  remove  specimens  of  any  of  the  really  scarce  plants  from  the  field. 

This  applies  particularly  to  some  of  the  rarer  types  of  Sarracenia  and  Nepenthes 
which  have  very  restricted  distributions.  If  you  are  fortunate  enough  to  find 
such  a  location,  and  feel  that  you  must  have  some  of  the  plants  for  your  own  pur¬ 
poses,  time  your  visit  to  coincide  with  the  fruiting  season  so  that  you  may  collect 
a  limited  amount  of  seed.  Depending  upon  local  conditions,  it  may  be  a  good  idea, 
at  the  same  time,  to  try  to  help  the  population  out  by  sprinkling  a  few  seeds  in 
the  least  crowded  parts  of  the  site.  If  done  carefully,  cuttings  may  sometimes  be 
taken  for  later  vegetation  propagation  without  materially  damaging  the  plants. 

2.  Do  not  collect  plants  from  small  isolated  populations  of  any  species.  These 
often  consist  of  a  few  struggling  specimens  which  may  represent  a  remnant  of  a 
previously  much  larger  population  or  even  the  beginnings  of  a  new  distribution 
expansion.  In  any  case,  these  sites  are  often  of  great  scientific  interest,  and 
may  be  of  some  considerable  importance  to  the  well-being  of  the  species.  Since 
this  type  of  location  is  often  characteristic  of  the  distributional  limits  of  a 
species,  you  will  often  find  much  more  extensive  stands  of  a  given  plant  within  a 
few  miles. 

3.  When  collecting  plants,  especially  in  situations  contrary  to  the  above  recom¬ 
mendations,  try  to  exercise  your  self  control.  In  marginal  locations  and  in  the 
case  of  scarce  species,  an  altruistic  hobbyist  gathering  specimens  for  all  his 
friends  can  do  as  much  damage  as  any  commercial  collector.  It  is  always  best, 
even  when  dealing  with  common  plants,  to  only  take  what  you  feel  you  really  need. 

If  you  are  at  all  unsure  of  your  ability  to  grow  a  given  kind  of  plant,  you  should 
be  even  more  cautious  about  field-collecting  speciments.  Test  your  horticultural 
talents  on  the  common  varieties  first. 

4.  Avoid  breaking  the  law.  Concern  for  our  environment,  and  specifically  for  the 
continued  existence  of  some  of  the  more  endangered  organisms,  has  led  to  the  crea¬ 
tion  of  a  large  number  of  conservation-oriented  laws  at  all  governmental  levels. 
Many  of  these  apply  rather  directly  to  carnivorous  plants.  A  great  deal  of  scien¬ 
tific  expertise  has  often  (but  not  always)  gone  into  the  formulation  of  these,  and 
if  they  were  carefully  obeyed,  many  taxa  and  populations  would  be  in  much  less 
danger.  Since  the  legal  penalties  are  often  relatively  severe,  this  recommendation 
should  also  be  considered  from  a  practical  standpoint.  Although  you  should  check 
for  yourself,  as  a  general  rule  the  following  types  of  laws  will  be  found:  1)  all 
plants  in  parks,  wildlife  refuges,  and  similar  areas  are  protected,  2)  certain  very 
scarce  CP  are  protected  in  all  areas,  and  3)  CP  which  are  rare  in  a  local  area,  are 
often  protected  there  even  if  they  are  common  elsewhere.  In  the  United  States,  at 
least,  you  are  likely  to  find  that  it  is  illegal  to  collect  most  CP  unless  you  have 
specific  permission  of  the  landowner. 

5.  Be  cautious  about  informing  others  of  the  locations  of  isolated  populations  or 
rare  species.  It  is  now  becoming  apparent,  especially  to  the  scientific  community, 
that  great  damage  can  result  from  the  release  of  this  type  of  information.  Commer¬ 
cial  exploration  has  historically  often  followed  on  the  heels  of  the  publication  of 
even  moderately  explicit  locality  data.  Because  of  this,  the  scientist  in  particu¬ 
lar  is  now  placed  in  the  very  uncomfortable  position  of  withholding  important 
information  to  protect  the  object  of  his  interests. 

Purchasing  Plants 

6.  Buy  your  plants  only  from  reputable  dealers  who  you  can  be  sure  did  not 
field-collect  the  plants  they  are  selling.  I  only  know  of  two  such  dealers  in 
the  United  States,  "Sun  Dew  Environments"  and  "World  Insectivorous  Plants," 
although  there  may  be  others.  Avoid  dealers,  such  as  "Peter  Pauls  Nurseries," 
which  have  been  known  to  have  solicited  field-grown  material.*  There  are  almost 
certainly  a  considerable  number  of  dealers  of  this  type  presently  in  business. 

It  would  be  of  great  benefit  for  all  CP  growers  to  have  seen  the  ravages  which 
can  be  caused  by  commercial  exploitation,  the  trampled  and  cratered  fields  which 
were  once  pristine  bogs  or  savannahs. 

Positive  Conservation  Measures 

The  above  recommendations  have  essentially  consisted  of  things  which  you  should 
avoid  doing.  If  you  would  like  to  do  something  of  positive  benefit,  there  are  a 
number  of  courses  of  action  available. 


*  A  letter  of  documentation  is  on  file  with  the  editors  of  CPN. 


40 


CPN 


Volume  VI ,  No.  2 


7.  Work  for  better  laws  to  protect  carnivorous  plants.  If  you  live  in  an  area 
where  there  are  native  CP,  find  out  if  any  of  them  are  in  need  of  more  protection 
and  then  contact  your  local  lawmakers.  You  may  find  them  to  be  quite  helpful,  in 
the  absence  of  any  particular  opposition  to  your  request,  and  willing  to  add  a 
"conservation"  feather  to  their  caps.  Be  careful,  however,  to  make  your  point  as 
reasonably  and  logically  as  possible.  It  is  probably  of  even  more  importance,  at 
the  same  time,  to  attempt  to  find  if  the  existing  laws  are  being  enforced.  They 
are  probably  not.  Since  this  type  of  law  is  usually  handled  by  agencies  which 
also  regulate  hunting  and  fishing,  plant  protection  may  be  given  a  low  priority. 
Report  any  incident  which  you  feel  may  be  in  violation  of  the  carnivorous  plant 
protection  laws.  You  will  probably  not  have  enough  evidence  to  lead  to  any  real 
action,  but  this  type  of  report  may  lead  to  an  increased  awareness  of  the  need  for 
improved  enforcement  on  the  part  of  the  agency.  With  respect  to  the  type  of 
activity  discussed  here,  there  is  no  substitute  for  acquiring  some  knowledge  as  to 
how  your  government  works  (local  conservation  organizations  will  be  delighted  to 
help  you) ,  followed  by  the  writing  of  letters  to  all  appropriate  governmental 
officials  and  employees. 

8.  Make  some  effort  to  see  that  significant  CP  habitats  are  preserved.  This  is 
not  an  easy  task  at  all,  but  is  probably  the  most  important  single  action  you  can 
take.  Many  persons  involved  with  carnivorous  plants  are  aware  of  some  prime  loca¬ 
tion  which  is  vulnerable  to  elimination.  Indeed,  many  are  all  too  familiar  with 
such  sites  which  have  already  been  destroyed.  The  most  efficient  use  of  your  time 
can  probably  be  made  by  contacting  local  conservation  groups  and  educating  them  as 
to  the  uniqueness  and  intrinsic  scientific  value  of  such  locations.  (You  should, 
of  course,  also  beware  of  publicizing  these  places,  as  previously  noted.;  They 
will  often  know  the  right  mechanisms  for  placing  these  lands  in  the  public  trust, 
and  for  seeing  that  they  are  intelligently  managed  in  the  future.  Once  again,  a 
letter-writing  campaign  may  be  relatively  effective. 

9.  If  you  are  one  of  those  individuals  who  is  fortunate  enough  to  be  growing  some 
of  the  rarer  or  more  endangered  plants,  propagate  and  distribute  them  as  widely  as 
possible.  I  do  not  have  a  great  deal  of  faith  in  the  concept  that  individual 
growers  will,  in  the  long  run,  be  able  to  preserve  species  which  have  been  exter¬ 
minated  in  the  wild.  However,  it  is  fairly  obvious  that  if  all  growers  who  were 
interested  in,  for  instance,  Sarracenia  rubra  jonesii,  had  several  specimens, 
there  would  be  no  incentive  for  the  collection  of  the  wild  plants. 

Cone lusions 

Hopefully,  it  is  now  obvious  that  there  are  many  things  which  any  CP  enthusiast 
can  do  to  further  the  cause  of  conservation.  Some  of  these  may  be  accomplished  by 
a  little  positive  action,  but  many  require  only  that  the  grower's  interest  in 
obtaining  as  many  species  as  possible  in  the  shortest  time  be  slightly  curtailed. 

I  do  realize,  though,  how  difficult  this  may  be,  and  must  admit  that  I  have  not, 
in  the  past,  always  followed  my  own  recommendations.  This  was  often  due  to  ignor¬ 
ance  of  the  real  need  for  conservation  measures,  but  was  sometimes  caused  by  a 
belief  that  the  only  way  in  which  I  might  obtain  a  given  plant  was  by  collecting 
it  or  purchasing  it  from  any  willing  seller.  There  may,  previously,  have  been 
some  slight  validity  in  this  belief,  but  with  few  exceptions,  it  is  no  longer  true. 
Many  people  involved  with  the  CPN  Seed  and  Plant  Exchange  are  willing  to  help  out 
less  advanced  growers,  often  to  the  point  of  distributing  scarce  material  gratis, 
and  the  conscientious  commercial  sources  are  doing  their  best  to  expand  their  lists 
of  available  species.  You  will  find,  given  sufficient  patience,  that  you  will 
eventually  be  able  to  obtain  almost  any  plant  you  wish  and  keep  an  entirely  clear 
conscience  in  the  process. 

Whatever  your  interests  in  carnivorous  plants  may  be,  try  to  always  keep  in 
mind  their  precarious  status.  Realize  the  fragile  nature  of  most  of  their 
habitats,  the  endangered  status  of  some  of  the  species,  and  act  accordingly.  To 
to  so  is  to  assure  the  future  of  these  marvelously  interesting  plants. 

Literature  Cited 

DeFilipps,  R.  A.  1976.  Conservation  action  for  carnivorous  plants.  C.P.N. 

5  (1) :  8. 

Johnson,  P.  H.  1976.  Carnivorous  plants.  House  Plants  and  Porch  Gardens. 

1  (6) :  36-47. 

Mazrimas,  J.  A.  and  D.  E.  Schnell.  1976.  An  editorial  statement  on  conservation 
and  CPN.  C.P.N.  5  (1):  3. 

Schnell,  D.  E.  1976.  Carnivorous  plants  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

John  F.  Blair,  Winston-Salem,  N.C.  125  p. 

Schwartz,  R.  1974.  Carnivorous  plants.  Praeger,  New  York.  128  p. 


41 


CPN 


We  will  now  discuss  the  reasons  for  name 
changes.  Botanical  history  goes  back  for 
several  hundred  years  during  which  time  new 
plants  were  being  discovered  and  named.  In 
many  cases,  due  to  the  lack  of  efficient  com¬ 
munications,  two  botanists  could  get  hold  of 
the  same  plant  and  each  would  give  it  a  differ¬ 
ent  scientific  name  without  knowing  what  the 
other  was  doing.  Years  later  it  would  be  dis¬ 
covered  that  here  was  one  plant  species  (NOTE: 
the  word  "species"  is  always  used  as  a  plural 
form,  whether  it  applies  to  one  plant  specimen, 
one  species,  or  several  species.  The  use  of 
the  word  "specie"  is  never  correct)  with  two 
scientific  names,  a  situation  which  could  not 
exist  without  much  confusion. 

What  was  to  be  done?  Well,  one  of  the  most 
important  rules  of  the  International  Code  of 
Botanical  Nomenclature,  which  attempts  to 
stabilize  nomenclature  and  allow  for  the  fewest 
changes,  is  the  rule  of  priority.  This  simply 
states  that  the  first  name  to  be  validly  published  for  a  plant  is  to  be  the  one  and 
only  correct  one,  and  this  is  usually  the  oldest  name.  Valid  publication  involves 
giving  the  plant  a  proper  Latin  binomial  name  with  a  brief  Latin  description,  and 
published  where  it  has  a  reasonable  chance  of  being  available  to  most  botanists.  So, 
if  there  are  two  scientific  names  for  a  plant,  one  has  to  be  the  correct  name  and  the 
other  becomes  a  synonym.  Thus,  one  way  a  well-known  name  can  be  changed  is  for  some¬ 
one  to  discover  that  another  name  had  been  proposed  earlier  than  the  one  currently  in 
use.  This  applies  either  to  the  generic  name  or  the  specific  epithet.  For  example, 
the  names  Sarraaenia  drummondii  and  S.  sledgii ,  well-known  a  generation  ago,  had  to 
be  changed  to  S.  leuoophylla  and  S.  alata ,  respectively,  when  it  was  discovered  that 
the  latter  names  were  older.  These  changes  would  not  affect  later  generations  of 
botanists  and  laymen  who  would  be  learning  "S.  leuoophylla "  and  "S.  alata"  for  the 
first  time;  but  they  would  have  to  know  about  the  earlier  used  synonyms  if  they  had 
to  look  up  any  information  about  these  species  in  the  older  literature. 

Names  may  be  also  be  changed  when  a  botanist,  or  layman,  studying  a  group  of  plants 
decides  that  the  classification  of  these  plants  must  be  altered  to  reflect  a  more 
accurate  view  of  the  evolutionary  relationships  of  the  plants.  He  would  come  to  this 
decision  after  exhaustive  studies  of  the  plants  in  the  field,  in  the  garden  plot,  in 
the  laboratory  and  in  the  literature,  and  it  is  not  a  thing  to  be  taken  lightly.  He 
may  thus  transfer  a  species  from  one  genus  to  another,  or  he  may  change  the  rank  of 
some  species,  for  example,  from  a  subspecies  to  a  species,  or  vice  versa.  For 
example,  "Sarraaenia  jonesii from  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina,  may  be  recog¬ 
nized  as  S.  jonesii }  S.  rubra  ssp.  jonesii ,  or  S.  rubra  variety  jonesii,  depending 
on  your  taxonomic  interpretation  of  the  biological  significance  of  the  plant  popula¬ 
tions.  (See  C.  R.  Bell,  A  cytotaxonomic  study  of  the  Sarraceniaceae  of  North  America, 
J.  Elisha  Mitchell  Sci.  Soc.  65:137-166  +  14  pi.,  1949;  S.  McDaniel,  The  genus 
Sarraaenia,  Bull.  Tall  Timbers  Research  Station  (Tallahassee,  FL) ,  No.  9,  1971; 

F.  W.  and  R.  B.  Case,  The  Sarraaenia  rubra  complex,  Rhodora  78:270-325,  1976;  D.  E. 
Schnell,  The  Carnivorous  Plants  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  Blair  Publisher 
(Winston-Salem,  NC) ,  1976;  and  D.  E.  Schnell,  Infraspecific  variation  in  Sarracenia 
rubra,  Castanea  (in  press)  ,  1977  .) 

The  foregoing  two  situations  indicate  that  these  types  of  name  changes  will  always 
be  occurring;  and,  though  inevitable,  supposedly  they  reflect  our  ever  increasing 
botanical  knowledge  and  our  changing  (improving)  views  regarding  populations  of 
living,  dynamic  plants.  I  would  agree  that  this  concept  goes  against  the  notion  of 
stability  of  names  and  facilitation  of  communication;  but  scientific  names  are  still 
more  specific  than  common  names  (because  at  any  one  time,  there  can  be  only  one 
scientific  name)  and  scientific  names  must  be  flexible  to  be  useful  in  an  ever 
changing  field.  At  this  point  I  embarrassingly  bring  up  the  case  of  the  Douglas 
Fir  of  western  North  America.  Over  the  past  200  years  or  so  it  has  had  four  differ¬ 
ent  scientific  names,  but  it  has  always  been  known  as  "Douglas  Fir."  This  is 
definitely  an  exception  to  the  general  situation. 

At  the  risk  of  seeming  contradictory  to  the  previous  discussion,  I  bring  up  one 
final  point.  Because  name  changes  are  annoying,  no  matter  how  important,  and  because 
they  may  interfere  with  the  availability  and  flow  of  information  and  must  be  avoided 
whenever  possible,  the  Code  has  a  special  clause  that  provides  for  the  conservation 


42 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  2 


of  names  to  prevent  certain  changes  in  the  interest  of  stability.  According  to 
this  provision,  an  incorrect  name  can  be  conserved  (i.e.,  preserved)  if  it  is 
widely  known  to  and  used  by  horticulturists,  botanists,  foresters,  laymen,  etc. 
Conservation  thus  can  occasionally  be  used  to  avoid  an  otherwise  inevitable  name 
change  which  would  inconvenience  a  great  many  people  (See  Jeffrey,  1968) .  By 
legislative  action  names  can  be  conserved  by  the  vote  of  a  committee  of  the  Inter¬ 
national  Botanical  Congress.  They  are  then  listed  in  the  Code  book  along  with  the 
corresponding  rejected  names.  Conservation  is  thus  a  limitation  to  the  principle 
of  priority  in  that  the  earliest  name  may  not  be  used.  Conservation  itself  has  one 
limitation  however:  conservation  applies  only  to  names  of  genera  and  families; 
specific  names  cannot  be  conserved.  As  an  example  of  conservation  of  names,  take 
the  names  Darlingtonia  and  Chry samphora  which  have  both  received  varying  degrees  of 
acceptance  as  the  correct  generic  name  for  the  California  Cobra  plant.  Under  the 
rules  of  priority,  Chry  samphora  is  the  oldest  legitimate  name  that  applies  to  these 
plants  because  when  the  name  Darlingtonia  was  proposed  to  refer  to  the  cobra  plant, 
the  same  name  (Darlingtonia)  had  already  been  given  to  another  entirely  different 
species--and  the  same  name  can't  be  used  twice  (so  Darlingtonia  for  the  cobra  plant 
had  to  be  dropped,  theoretically) .  However,  by  time  this  confusing  situation  had 
been  discovered,  the  name  Darlingtonia  had  been  in  use  for  a  long  time  and  had  become 
well  known  as  the  California  cobra  plant.  (The  original  "Darlingtonia"  being  a  much 
more  obscure  member  of  the  legume  family) .  Thus,  it  was  decided  by  a  very  narrow 
vote  that  Darlingtonia-- as  the  California  Cobra  plant — should  be  conserved  over  the 
other  use  of  the  name,  and  therefore  conserved  over  Chry samphora  also.  Consequently, 
by  legislative  action,  Darlingtonia  is  now  and  forever  more  (no  matter  what  else 
might  turn  up)  the  correct  name  of  the  California  cobra  plant. 

In  conclusion,  this  has  been  a  brief  and  highly  simplified  article  in  which  I  have 
tried  to  indicate  that  though  botanists  and  laymen  alike  are  annoyed  by  name  changes 
of  well-known  plants,  we  must  realize  that  there  are  special  reasons  for  the  changes; 
and  taxonomic  botanists  are  not  to  be  scourned  as  merely  name- jugglers ,  playing  some 
silly  game.  Names  can  only  be  changed  in  accordance  with  the  very  specific  rules 
layed  down  in  the  ICBN.  You  cannot  alter  the  name  of  a  plant  just  because  you  want 
to,  or  because  you  think  the  name  is  inappropriate,  objectionable,  misleading,  etc. 
Scientific  names  are  very  important  to  botanists  and  laymen  and  they  have  their 
special  uses,  just  as  do  common  names.  We  must  make  the  best  of  things  and  not  let 
anything  dampen  our  interest  in  the  plants  we  enjoy,  which  after  all,  is  the  most 
important  part  of  our  concern.  Fortunately,  the  plants  remain  unchanged  and  intrigu¬ 
ing  no  matter  what  their  names. 


COMING  IN  THE  NEXT  ISSUE  .  .  . 

"Notes  on  Tuberous  Droseras  of  Western  Australia"  by  Steve  Rose 

"Notes  on  Nepenthes  mirabilis  and  other  Carnivorous  Plants  in  Queensland" 
by  P.  S.  Lavarack 


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Robert  Syrlik,  217  Drake  Ave . ,  Apt.  3 J ,  New  Rochelle,  NY  10805. 

(B)  Cephalotus  follicularis 

Lenny  Hoffman,  Jr.,  365  Beach  St.,  Berea,  OH  44017 

(B)  0.  petiolaris,  any  Nepenthes;  (W)  Any  Utricularia 
Joseph  P.  Cantasano,  2717  Jerusalem  Ave.,  North  Bellmore,  NY  11710 

(B)  Cephalotus ,  Nepenthes  rafflesiana ,  N.  burki,  N.  dycriana,  N.  villosa,  N.  x  kinabaluensis, 

N.  edwardsiana,  N.  harryana,  N.  bicalcarata,  N.  ampullaria 
Patrick  Dwyer,  St.  Michael's  Episcopal  Church,  49  Killean  Park,  Albany  NY  12205 
(WT)  Androvanda  plants  or  seed,  Genlisea  sp.  plants  or  seed,  Mexican  Pinguicula  sp.  (not 
P.  caudata)  plants  or  seed,  seed  of  CP's,  Drosera  regia  plants  or  seed. 

Robert  Cantlay,  30672  Paseo  Del  Niguel,  Laguna  Niguel,  CA  92677 

(WB)  Aldrovanda  plant,  Cephalotus  FI  plant,  Byblis  gigantea  plant,  Drosera  regia  plant 
Paul  F.  Kukuchka,  P.O.  Box  #631,  Montgomeryville ,  PA  18936 
(WB)  Nepenthes  maxima ,  Drosophyllum 

Scott  Plamondon,  6639  S.E.  Yamhill  Ct.,  Portland,  Oregon  97215 

(wtb)  Heliamphora,  Cephalotus  follicularis,  Drosera  schizandra,  Drosera  peltata 
(TS)  Darlingtonia  calif omica 

Thomas  Crisalli,  145  Nelson  St.,  Brooklyn,  NY  11231 

(B)  Drosera  rotundifolia,  D.  linearis,  D.  anglica,  D.  intermedia,  D.  capillaris,  D.  filiformis , 
U.S.A.  hybrids,  S.  purpurea  ssp.  venosa,  Dionaea  musaipula  large.,  Byblis 
Aric  Bendorf,  1121  North  Signal  St.,  Ojai,  CA  93023 

(WB)  Nepenthes  plants,  cuttings  or  seeds,  Cephalotus  follicularis  plants  or  seeds,  Byblis 
gigantea  plants  or  seeds 

Steve  Smith,  P.O.  Box  544,  Hancock,  NY  13783 

(W)  Single  specimen  Cephalotus  follicularis 
Archibald  F.  Mills,  1517  Glenwood  Lane,  Bishop,  CA  93514 

(B)  Drosera  binata,  D.  capensis,  D.  capillaris,  D.  filiformis,  D.  spathulata,  Cephalotus 
follicularis,  Byblis  gigantea.  Nepenthes  dicksoniana ,  N.  gracilis,  N.  rafflesiania 
Henry  Peltz,  1511  Calvin  Ave.,  Muskegon,  Mich.  49442 
(w)  Drosera  petiolaris 


When  submitting  Want  Ads,  please  be  sure  to  print  clearly  for  best  results  and 
to  eliminate  mistakes.  Please  circle  the  correct  letter  before  each  item  (Want, 
Trade,  Sell  or  Buy).  Want  ads  are  limited  to  carnivorous  plants,  terrariums, 
greenhouses  and  moss.  There  is  a  charge  of  ten  cents  per  item,  with  no  limit  to 
the  number  of  items  you  may  submit  per  issue. 

Send  coin  or  check  along  with  the  form  to:  Arboretum,  Want  Ads 

California  State  University 
Fullerton,  CA  92634 


SEND  YOUR  PHOTOS! 

We  like  David  Taylor's  suggestion  (see  News  &  Views)  that  subscribers  send  in 
pictures  of  themselves  for  publication  in  CPN.  Contributors  to  Short  Notes  and 
News  &  Views  should  also  send  in  pictures  relevant  to  the  article  submitted.  Photos 
should  be  glossy,  black  and  white  with  good  contrast  (preferably  with  a  light  back¬ 
ground)  ,  and  not  too  large  (3x5  is  a  good  size) .  Please  include  a  description. 


vsn  fr£9Z6  YD  'uo;j9nnj 
AqxsxaAxun  aqeqs  exujojxqeo 
saouaps  -[Boxfiotoxg  jo  quauiqxpdaa 

wnianoanv  am 


.AKraVUKUUd 

PLANT 

NEWSLETTER 


VOLUME  VI,  No.  3 
September,  1977 


Drosera  spathulata  Sundew 

Photo  by  Steven  A.  Frowine 
The  Garden  Center  of  Greater  Cleveland 


44 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


EDITOR ' S  CORNER 

The  past  year  has  indeed  been  a  busy  one  filled  with  accomplishments  to  advance  the 
stature  of  CPN,  but  there  have  also  been  problems.  We  have  been  informed  that  all 
mailings,  especially  to  places  outside  the  USA,  must  now  be  wrapped — that  is,  enclosed 
in  some  sort  of  cover  other  than  the  type  we  have  used  for  so  many  years.  It  is  with 
this  in  mind,  as  well  as  the  possibility  of  putting  out  a  more  professional  looking 
newsletter  with  an  added  bonus — COLOR--that  the  following  is  proposed. 

The  present  looseleaf  8-1/2  x  11  inch  format  would  be  changed  to  a  6  x  9  inch  booklet 
such  as  used  by  the  Begonia  Society  and  the  Los  Angeles  International  Fern  Society 
(LAIFS) .  We  would  be  working  with  Kandid  Litho  Company  which  specializes  in  this 
type  of  newsletter.  The  booklet  would  have  a  color  cover  with  occasional  bonus  color 
in  the  inside  pages.  Typeset  would  be  double  column  "journal  style"  in  10  point  type. 

For  example,  under  the  new  format,  Larry  Mellichamp's  Botanist's  Corner  in  the  June 
issue  would  take  one  page  without  the  logo.  There  would  be  24  inside  pages  plus  the 
three  sides  of  the  cover,  but  since  we  would  have  to  print  all  the  covers  at  once, 
only  non-timely  information  would  be  on  these  pages--probably  black  and  white  pictures 
with  a  caption  of  a  few  paragraphs.  Upon  examining  a  sample  copy  of  CPN,  the  typeset¬ 
ter  said  that  24  inside  pages  would  be  sufficient  with  room  for  a  few  pictures. 

Weightwise,  in  an  envelope,  the  whole  package  comes  to  well  under  two  ounces,  which  we 
use  as  a  standard  mailing  weight  since  the  airmail  rates  we  use  for  overseas  come  in 
two  ounce  increments. 

The  present  format  now  costs  about  $400  per  issue  for  1000  copies.  The  proposed  format 
would  cost  about  $610  per  issue  for  1000  copies.  Therefore,  rates  would  have  to  be 
raised  about  $2  to  cov£r  the  increased  printing  costs.  Now,  the  decision  will  have  to  be 
made  as  to  whether  the  increase  be  applied  across  the  board  or  should  the  domestic  sub¬ 
scribers,  which  comprise  the  bulk  of  the  total  membership,  partially  subsidize 
the  overseas  subscribers?  Due  to  currency  and  cost  of  living  differences,  overseas  sub¬ 
scribers  are  in  effect  paying  double  the  posted  rates.  In  conversing  with  other  societies, 
such  as  the  Los  Angeles  International  Fern  Society,  we  find  this  is  essentially  the  case; 
that  is,  they  have  only  one  subscription  price  with  the  idea  that  since  the  domestic 
subscribers  far  outnumber  the  overseas  subscribers,  the  differences  in  postal  rates,  cost 
of  living,  etc.,  balance  out. 

We  solicit  your  opinions.  Please  use  the  enclosed  ballot  and  mail  as  soon  as  possible, 
as  the  results  will  have  to  be  announced  in  the  December  issue  along  with  the  rates  for 
the  following  year.  The  present  format  has  been  cut  one  sheet  to  cover  the  weight  of 
the  envelope,  which  results  in  the  loss  of  one  page  of  text  since  the  Want  Ads  must  now 
be  incorporated  into  the  paginated  section  of  CPN. 


SEED  BANK 

As  announced  in  the  last  issue  of  CPN,  the  Seed  Bank  will  be  handled  by  Patrick  Dwyer, 
Director,  St.  Michael's  Episcopal  Church  Gardens  and  Arboretum,  49  Killiean  Park,  Albany, 
N.Y.  12205.  Contributions  and  orders  should  be  addressed  to  him. 

To  send  seed:  Please  remove  seed  from  the  seed  capsules  and  place  it  in  small  envelopes 
(preferably  paper  so  that  they  dry  out  enough  to  prevent  mold) .  Label  with  the  origin 
and  date  of  collection,  including  habitat  if  it  is  exotic.  Fold  the  envelope  over  once 
or  twice  before  taping  so  that  the  seeds  don't  stick  to  the  tape.  After  the  seed  is 
received  it  will  be  placed  in  smaller  packets;  donors  will  be  informed  of  how  many 
packets  they  have  donated.  A  donation  of  10-19  packets  earns  one  free  seed  pacxet  of 
comparable  rarity,  with  one  free  for  each  additional  10  packets. 

Do  not  ask  to  trade  for  seed  from  the  bank.  Everyone  will  have  to  buy  all  but  their 
free  packets.  When  you  send  seed,  indicate  whether  it  is  for  the  seed  bank,  for  Pat¬ 
rick's  seed  project  or  for  a  personal  trade.  The  seed  bank  is  separate  from  his 
collection . 


CO-EDITORS : 

D.E.  Schnell 
Rt.  4,  Box  275B 
Statesville,  NC  28677 


J.A.  Mazrimas 
329  Helen  Way 
Livermore,  CA  94550 


T.L.  Mellichamp 
Dept,  of  Biology 
UNCC 

Charlotte,  NC  28223 


Leo  Song 
The  Arboretum 
Dept,  of  Biology 
California  State  Univ. 
Fullerton,  CA  92634 


PUBLISHER: 


The  Arboretum,  Dept,  of  Biology,  California  State  University,  Fullerton, 
CA  92634.  Published  quarterly  with  one  volume  annually.  Circulation: 

786  (474  new,  312  renewal).  Subscriptions:  $5.00  annually  (U.S.,  Canada, 
Mexico);  $7.00  annually  (all  others,  airmail). 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


CPN 


45 


To  order  seed:  Please  enclose  payment.  List  the  seeds  desired  and  an  equal  number  of 
substitutes  in  order  of  preference.  If  requested,  Patrick  will  add  any  cultural  instruc¬ 
tions  of  which  he  is  aware.  Patrick  will  answer  all  letters  and  orders  as  quickly  as 
possible;  if  you  receive  no  response  within  two  weeks  (U.S.)  to  a  month  (outside  U.S.) 
please  write  again. 

Each  issue  of  CPN  will  include  an  update  of  the  inventory.  Please  do  not  ask  for  a 
list  unless  you  have  joined  after  this  initial  listing. 


PATRICK  DWYER,  director  of  the  botanical  garden  at  St. 
Michael's  Episcopal  Church  in  Albany,  N.Y. ,  is  a  recent 
graduate  of  the  State  University  of  New  York  at  Albany 
with  a  B.S.  degree  in  Biology.  The  garden  at  St.  Michael's 
occupies  2+  acres  and  contains  approximately  750  species 
of  plants.  It  includes  gardens  of  native  wildf lowers, 
ferns,  and  orchids  of  northeastern  U.S. A.,  alpine  plants, 
herbs  and  "normal"  cultivated  flowers.  In  several  small 
greenhouses  are  collections  of  CP's,  cacti,  bromeliads, 
palms,  ferns  and  native  orchids.  Visitors  are  welcome. 

Although  carnivorous  plants  are  his  primary  interest, 
Patrick  has  many  others,  including  several  collections 
(ranging  from  fossils  to  stamps) .  He  plays  USVBA  volley¬ 
ball  and  coaches  a  high  school  team;  he  also  helps  with 
the  church  youth  and  younger  children  of  the  parish  four 
nights  a  week.  He  is  a  member  of  ten  conservation  groups 
and  nearly  as  many  plant  societies  and  hopes  that  by 
overseeing  the  seed  bank  he  can  be  of  service  and  fulfill 
a  need.  "I  would  like  to  ask  everyone  that  subscribes  to 
CPN  to  please  send  as  much  seed  as  you  can  spare)  The 
seed  bank  will  only  work  if  everyone  does  his  or  her  part!" 


SEED  BANK  INVENTORY  -  August,  1977 

Cost:  $. 50/packet.  Please  list  substitutes. 

Darlingtonia  calif ornica 
Dionaea  muscipula 

Drosera  affinis  [2)*,  D.  aliciae ,  D.  anglica,  D.  auriculata  {6),  D.  binata  [3),  D.  binata 
hybrid  (3),  D.  brevi folia  (4),  D.  burmannii,  D.  capensis,  D.  capensis  (narrow  leaf), 
D.  capillaris,  D.  capillaris?  "Spathulata  Type"  (1),  D.  communis  (.2),  D.  erythror- 
hiza,  D.  filiformis  filiformis ,  D.  glanduligera,  D.  heterophylla  (2),  D.  indica  (3), 
D.  intermedia  "Roraima  Type"  (1),  D.  linearis  (4),  D.  montana ,  D.  peltata  ( 3 ),  D. 
pygmaea  (1),  D.  rotundi folia,  D.  spathulata  ( 2 ),  D.  spathulata  "Australian  Type"  (2), 
D.  spathulata  "Kanto  Type"  (2),  D.  trinervia  (10),  D.  villosa  (4),  D.  sp.  "v. 

Capelle"  -  Holland  (1) 

Dro sophy  Hum  lusitanicum 
Nepenthes  macfarlanei  (10) 

Pinguicula  alpina  (1),  P.  alpina  &  P.  vulgaris  mix,  P.  Corsica  (4),  P.  grandi flora,  P. 

grandi flora  f.  pallida  (7),  P.  grandiflora  ssp.  rosea,  P.  leptoceras  (3),  P.  pumila 
(1),  P.  vallisnerii folia  (2),  P.  vulgaris  f.  bicolor  (6) 

Roridula  gorgonias 

Sarracenia  alata  (x-ray  treated,  100  rads),  S.  x  exornata  ( 5 ) ^  S.  flava,  S.  leucophylla, 

S.  x  mitchelliana  (8),  S.  oreophila  x  alata  (5),  S.  purpurea  venosa,  S.  rubra,  S. 
rubra  var.  jonesii 

Utricularia  longifolia  (3),  U.  nipponica  (1),  U.  subulata  (1) 

♦Number  of  packets  is  listed  if  there  are  fewer  than  15. 

NEWS  &  VIEWS 

WALTER  BARNETT  writes:  I  would  like  to  report  a  method  of  killing  algae  and  bacteria 
colonies  in  the  trays  of  pygmy  Drosera  that  I  grow.  I  am  currently  growing  several 
species  of  pygmy  Drosera  under  fluorescent  light.  After  many  weeks  of  good  growth, 
a  slime-like  algae  invaded  the  area.  I  treated  this  with  several  applications  of 
Benomyl.  One  month  later,  after  three  treatments,  the  algae  was  still  existent. 

Recently,  white  mold  appeared  throughout  the  trays.  Everyday,  for  one  week,  I  placed 
the  trays  out  in  direct  sunlight  for  60-90  minutes.  The  ultraviolet  and  infrared 
light  of  the  sun  slowly  burned  off  the  bacteria  and  algae.  The  fluorescent  lights 
do  not  contain  sufficient  quantities  of  invisible  light  to  eradicate  the  hardy 
vari-eties  of  algae.  The  key  to  remember  is  not  to  overexpose  fluorescent  grown 
plants  to  long  periods  of  sunlight.  One  treatment  of  sunlight  is  not  enough  to 
kill  algae  and  fungus.  Often,  several  weeks  of  one  hour  exposures  are  necessary. 


46 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


TERRY  BROKENBRO  observed  some  ants  crawling  up  the  stem  of  his  Drosera  binata  (T-form) 
and  one  which  got  caught  seemed  to  inject  some  formic  acid  into  the  leaf  and  managed  to 
kill  off  the  whole  leaf.  He  hasn't  come  across  this  before,  and  ants  seem  to  become 

trapped  by  Drosera  capensis  and  Dionaea  muscipula  without  any  problems. 

On  another  subject  regarding  an  up-date  for  the  Round  Robin  Letter  Exchange,  Terry 
reports  the  following: 

IN  OPERATION:  1)  Seed  germination/raising  robin  (9  participants) 

2)  Drosera  robin  (8  participants) 

3)  Nepenthes  robin  (11  participants) 

A  LISTING  AWAITING  MORE  PARTICIPANTS: 

1)  General  robin  (6  listed) 

2)  Pinguicula  robin  (2  listed) 

3)  Sarraoenia  robin  (2  listed) 

4)  Darlingtonia  robin  (2  listed) 

5)  Cephalotus  robin  (2  listed) 

6)  Pygmy  Drosera  robin  (2  listed) 

7)  Heliamphora  robin  (2  listed) 

You  will  notice  from  the  above  that  several  interesting  subjects  are  listed  as  possible 
future  RRs.  During  the  past  couple  of  months,  I  have  not  had  any  RR  inquiries  so  perhaps 
it  is  time  for  another  call  for  more  members  to  join.  How  about  this,  CPN  members? 

Write  to  Terry  at:  37,  Laburnham  Gardens,  Upminster,  Essex,  Great  Britain  RM14  1HX. 

BILL  COOK'S  ramblings  from  The  Plant  Shop's  Botanical  Gardens,  Reseda,  CA:  My  partner 
Bob  Cole  and  I  own  and  operate  a  small  botanical  garden.  In  over  15  years  of  chronic 
collecting,  we  have  amassed  a  large  and  impressive  collection,  which  in  the  last  few 
years  has  been  open  to  the  public,  without  charge,  five  days  a  week.  Our  Nepenthes 
collection,  housed  in  the  main  tropical  house,  is  about  50  feet  long  and  is  suspended 
over  one  of  the  walks  so  that  one  may  better  see  and  examine,  against  ceiling  light, 
the  insects  in  the  liquid  of  the  traps. 

We  pride  ourselves  on  our  one-to-one  relationship  with  customers  and  find  that  they 
will  return  if  they  are  successful  with  the  plants.  We  have  a  fairly  constant  supply 
(though  limited  variety)  of  Nepenthes  for  sale.  Drosera  seem  to  be  most  popular, 
probably  because  they  are  easy  to  grow  in  small  areas.  Sarraoenia  trail  right  behind 
the  Drosera ,  slowed  only  by  their  average  height.  Some  customers  are  making  plexi¬ 
glass  tubes  by  bending  single  sheets  of  plastic  to  make  extending  devices  for  terraria, 
thus  obtaining  taller  "clean"  traps. 

One  of  the  few  plants  we  refuse  to  sell  or  keep  is  Darlingtonia .  In  this  climate 
they  must  be  field  collected  and  have  a  short  life  span  in  cultivation.  There  are 
other  plants  that  are  more  rewarding. 

Unfortunately,  along  with  several  other  collections  in  the  L.A.  area,  we  have  had 
three  recent  burglaries  and  lost  the  bulk  of  our  Cephalotus ,  D.  schizandra  and  more. 

We  have  had  to  remove  some  one-of-a-kind  plants  from  the  public  area,  though  the 
entire  Nepenthes  collection  and  a  sampling  of  others  are  still  on  view.  A  word  to 
the  wise  .  .  .  know  not  only  your  material  but  where  it  comes  froml 

In  the  latest  issue  there  was  a  reference  to  Bacillus .  We  have  been  using  dormant 
Bacillus  thuringiensis ,  distributed  in  the  RO  water,  for  some  time.  I  have  found 
soaking  to  be  the  best  method  of  application  in  the  carnivore  house;  outside  we 
spray.  We've  been  using  insecticides  (such  as  Plantfume,  Cygon  and  Enstar)  for 
years.  We  have  hopes  that  50%  Sevin  wettable  powder  will  keep  down  the  damage  which 
occurs  from  petroleum  base  carriers  and  heat.  If  this  proves  as  successful  for  us 
as  the  liquid  Sevin  has  been,  we  will  then  offer  it  to  customers.  By  fogging  in 
with  Enstar  (a  synthetic  juvenile  insect  hormone  which  halts  development) ,  we  can 
reach  areas  and  ceilings  without  worrying  about  danger  to  us  or  to  customers.  The 
$42/pint  price  is  worth  it  to  us  but  prohibitive  for  the  average  collector.  We've 
also  used  Cygon,  Malathion,  Kelthane  and  Zectran;  the  latter  two  cause  the  most 
phytotoxic  reaction,  and  the  others  will  do  some  foliar  harm.  We  are  getting  some 
signs  of  damage  on  Ixora  and  Adiantum  with  the  rather  new  Orthene,  so  we  will  pro¬ 
ceed  slowly  with  the  carnivores  and  will  advise  you  of  results.  We  are  using  Beno- 
myl  combined  with  Truban  with  success,  but  there  is  some  tip  burning  in  Sarraoenia. 

A  bone  of  contention  or  two:  hybridizing  and  stone-throwing!  Hybridizing  should  not 
be  done  without  good  reason!  Many  species  are  already  tenuous  in  their  identifica¬ 
tion  and  indiscriminate  hybridizing  will  only  further  confuse  the  issue.  Often  a 
surge  of  plant  interest  will  cause  a  rash  of  mislabeling  and  confusion  will  occur. 

Place  the  correct  cross  information  on  each  tag,  e.g.,  Nepenthes  alata  x  N.  raffle- 
siana,  and  don't  name  them  unless  you  plan  to  publish  a  description.  It  is  exciting 
and  fun  to  create  a  new  plant,  but  please  proceed  slowly. 

About  throwing  stones  ...  I  don't  feel  it  fair  to  clutter  such  a  fine  publication 
with  personal  attacks.  (Refer  to  CPN  VI92) : 38-40.  Conservation  and  Carnivorous 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


CPN 


47 


Plants.)  If  one  wishes  to  make  a  point  about  field  collecting,  well  and  good. 

The  article  was  informative  and  much  appreciated  until  it  became  personal. 

*A  later  note  from  Bill  indicates  delayed  damage  which  may  have  been  caused 
by  Orthene  and  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  many  CP.  It  is  therefore  recom¬ 
mended  that  caution  be  used  until  further  evaluation  is  available.  They  have 
discontinued  use  of  Orthene  for  the  time  being.  ED. 

ROBERT  GRIESBACH  reports  further  locations  of  Sarraeenia  purpurea  ssp.  purpurea 
f.  heterophylla  farther  west  (see  also  CPN  6:33):  Early  this  summer,  I  went 
canoeing  in  the  Superior  National  Forest  of  northern  Minnesota.  The  first  location 
of  heterophylla  was  on  the  eastern  half  of  the  Trost  River.  It  was  found  growing 
at  the  water's  edge.  The  second  location  was  about  ten  miles  further  east  on  an 
island  in  Glee  Lake.  The  total  number  of  plants  in  these  two  locations  was  four. 

JIM  KOROLAS  writes:  I  think  the  idea  of  pictures  of  CPN  members  is  a  great  idea. 
However,  I  think  the  co-editors  should  also  have  their  pictures  published  (on  the 
front  cover  or  on  the  back  of  the  front  cover) . 

JIM  LAVRICH  writes:  In  the  previous  issue  of  CPN  Phillip  Thomas  wrote  concerning 
Dionaea  collected  in  Hampstead,  N.C.,  which  possessed  an  irregular  number  of  trigger 
hairs.  I  have  also  discovered  this  phenomenon  on  some  specimens  which  I  have  been 
cultivating  for  some  time  now.  These  traps  contained  an  average  of  one  extra  trig¬ 
ger  hair  per  trap.  Upon  testing  of  these  trigger  hairs,  I  found  them  very  operable. 
However,  the  only  traps  which  possessed  extra  trigger  hairs  were  the  larger  ones 
between  25  and  30  mm.  in  length.  From  this  fact  I  have  hypothesized  that  perhaps 
larger  traps  occasionally  have  more  trigger  hairs  to  better  aid  the  capture  of  prey. 
Since  there  is  more  surface  area  on  the  larger  traps,  there  would  be  less  chance 
that  an  organism  would  be  effectively  captured  by  a  trap  with  the  normal  numbers  of 
trigger  hairs. 

LARRY  McCULLUH  just  purchased  a  new  book  called  Wild  Flowers  of  America,  ed.  H.  W. 
Rickett,  12th  printing.  It  has  400  color  plates  of  American  wild  flowers  by  Mary 
V.  Walcott.  Included  in  these  are  seven  plates  of  the  Sarraeenia  from  her  rare 
book.  North  American  Pitcher  Plants  that  he  has.  There  are  also  plates  of  Dionaea , 
Pinguicula  vulgaris,  Pinguicula  elatior  (caerulea).  Reproduction  of  the  plates  is 
very  good  and  can't  be  distinguished  from  the  originals.  It  can  be  obtained  from 
Crown  Publishers  for  $7.99. 

JOE  MAZRIMAS  informs  us  that  there  is  a  third  issue  of  the  magazine  "Plants  of  the 
World"  which  is  available  from  the  publisher.  In  addition  to  issues  #64  and  #9 
mentioned  before  (CPN  VI,  32,  1977)  showing  Nepenthes,  Sarraeenia,  Drosera,  Pin¬ 
guicula  and  Utricularia ,  the  new  issue  (#46)  shows  one  page  of  Cephalotus.  Send 
$2.00  for  each  issue  to: 

AS AH I  SHIMBUN  PUBLICATIONS  DEPT. 

Tokyo  Headquarters 

2-6-1  Yuraku-cho,  Chiyoda-ku 

Tokyo,  100,  JAPAN 

Another  issue  of  Garden  Life  16(7)  1977  features  additional  CP.  This  magazine 
from  Japan  was  first  mentioned  in  CPN  2:51  (1973)  which  at  that  time  featured 
Nepenthes.  Now,  this  new  issue  features  a  great  number  of  beautiful  pictures  of 
representative  CP  species  with  a  text  in  Japanese.  Send  $3.00  per  issue  to: 

Seibundo  Shinkosha  Pub.  Co.,  Nishikicho,  Kanda  Chiyoda-ku,  Tokyo,  JAPAN. 

There  are  extra  copies  of  Kurata ' s  book  "Nepenthes  of  Mt.  Kinabalu"  still  available 
from  me  for  $5.00  postpaid.  This  book  is  80  pages  in  length  and  has  an  English 
text  with  numerous  color  photos  of  the  finest  pitchers  in  the  Nepenthes  genus. 

Anyone  who  is  really  interested  in  Nepenthes  should  own  a  copy.  Please  send  check 
for  $5.00  to  Joe  Mazrimas.  Address  is  on  inside  back  page  of  cover. 

BOB  NELSON  writes:  Seeds  of  Nepenthes  khasiana  may  be  obtained  by  first  obtaining 
the  catalog  from  GEO.  W.  PARK  SEED  CO.,  INC.  P.O.  Box  31,  Greenwood,  South  Carolina 
29647.  There  is  no  price  for  the  catalog.  The  price  for  the  seeds  is:  25  seeds 
for  75C,  50  seeds  for  $1.25.  Darlingtonia  californica  ( Chry samphora)  seeds  and 
plants  are  also  available. 

DON  SCHNELL  writes:  Since  finishing  my  paper  on  Sarraeenia  rubra  (see  Literature 
reviews  this  issue) ,  I  have  continued  further  exploration  of  the  area  north  of 
Montgomery,  Alabama,  with  the  kind  assistance  of  several  local  and  other  informants. 
While  most  typically  mature  pitchers  of  S.  rubra  ssp.  alabamensis  have  a  moderately 
red  veined  upper  pitcher  interior  with  a  yellow-green  exterior  mostly  lacking  vein 
pigment,  I  have  come  across  many  clones  now  where  there  is  equally  strong  red  vena¬ 
tion  of  the  pitcher  exterior,  the  vein  network  pattern  being  typical  of  S.  rubra. 


48 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


In  addition,  these  pitchers  often  assume  a  dusky  red  color  in  mid  and  late  summer. 
These  locations  are  very  much  off  in  the  bush  and  apparently  have  not  been  previously 
evaluated  since  property  owners  recalled  no  one  else  with  interest  in  these  plants. 

By  the  way,  some  have  made  statements  implying  that  only  varying  degrees  of  S.  rubra 
hybrids  assume  a  diffuse  red  color  anytime,  that  "pure"  plants  of  the  species  never 
do  so.  This  is  quite  erroneous  as  anyone  who  carefully  follows  plants  in  the  field 
in  all  seasons  and  cultivates  them  properly  can  attest. 

From  the  "THERE's  STILL  HOPE"  Dept.:  On  8  July,  1977,  it  was  announced  that  The 
Federal  Paper  Board  Company  would  donate  13,850  acres  of  the  Green  Swamp  (Brunswick 
County,  North  Carolina)  to  the  Nature  Conservancy  for  permanent  preservation.  The 
Conservancy  will  administer  the  land  until  the  State  is  prepared  to  take  it  over. 

The  land  will  be  treated  as  a  natural  area  and  recreational  development  will  not 
occur.  This  very  generous  parcel  includes  many  fine  CP  areas  that  have  been  little 
tampered  with  due  to  drainage  problems  the  company  encountered.  Green  Swamp  trekkers 
will  appreciate  that  such  areas  as  the  well-known,  large  spring-fed  bog  of  Sarracenias 
along  and  east  of  NC  211  will  now  be  preserved.  Tough  luck,  commercial  collectors! 

I  would  like  to  remind  readers  that  those  CPN  members  who  have  papers  published  to 
be  sure  and  send  reprints  to  the  co-editors  and  to  indicate  if  they  wish  to  have  a 
reprint  availability  and  address  announcement  at  the  end  of  the  review.  This  helps 
those  readers  with  little  or  no  library  access  to  the  scientific  literature. 

Just  got  back  from  the  east  coast  the  other  day.  There  is  essentially  no  winter 
damage  at  all,  and  all  of  my  CP  outdoors  here  in  the  cooler  piedmont  also  came  through 
with  flying  colors,  including  the  Gulf  species.  The  main  problem  in  the  eastern 
coastal  plain  this  year  has  been  early  spring  drought.  In  late  April,  the  area  was 
almost  desert.  Now  there  has  been  rain,  but  all  ditches,  pools,  bays,  etc.  are  still 
only  wet  up  to  about  50%  capacity,  but  that  is  better  than  dry,  as  they  were  earlier. 
Flowering  occurred  on  time,  but  leafing  is  much  later,  about  a  month  behind,  likely 
because  of  the  drought.  Species  such  as  S.  rubra  and  S.  minor  which  should  be  in 
mature  pitcher  by  now  are  just  coming  up  or  opening.  Utricularia  are  far  fewer 
(flowers)  this  year,  even  in  good  pools  and  ditches.  This  may  be  a  reflection  of 
the  cold  winter,  but  while  species  such  as  U.  inf  lata  and  U.  purpurea  seem  to  have 
roughly  alternate  good  and  bad  years  anyway,  this  is  the  lightest  year  I  have 
seen . 

While  travelling  through  the  Mississippi  town  of 
Escatawpa,  located  in  the  heart  of  Sarraaenia  alata 
country,  late  one  weary  field  trip  afternoon,  I 
noted  this  street  sign.  It  was  worth  a  second  look 
and  some  photos  because  I  wondered  if  I  was  suffer¬ 
ing  from  field  fatigue — too  many  warm,  humid  sun- 
shined  hours  looking  at  and  for  Sarraaenia  and 
beginning  perhaps  to  see  them  everywhere.  The  town 
was  not  botanically  partial:  It  also  boasted  a 
Mimosa  St.  and  an  Azalea  St.  close  by.  If  I  had 
been  so  inclined,  further  explorations  of  other  parts 
of  the  town  may  have  disclosed  additional  street  sign 
oddities.  However,  then  it  was  time  to  be  done  with 
asphalt  bogs  and  to  be  back  into  live  bogs,  but  car¬ 
rying  the  thought  that  perhaps  it  would  be  appropriate 
one  day  if  on  this  road  someone  built  a  home  for  aged 

and  retired  CP  botanists  who  in  senior  and  calmer  years,  somewhat  like  old  warriors 
looking  back  on  ancient  battles,  might  sit  on  a  wide  veranda  and  discuss  old  times 
in  fields  long  grown  over,  and  yes,  even  be  serene  and  mellow  with  such  once  great 
issues  as  the  S.  rubra  problem. 

PHILIP  SHERIDAN  writes:  About  the  aquarium- terrarium,  I  forgot  to  give  the  address 
of  Aqua  Engineers  which  is  250  Cedar  St.,  Oronville,  Michigan  48462.  The  cost  of 
the  catalog  is  $1.00.  I  have  had  a  little  salt  build-up  and  I  would  recommend  using 
distilled  water.  The  best  light  can  be  achieved  by  using  "Spectralite"  or  "Vita- 
Lite".  For  growing  Nepenthes  from  seed  it  is  best  to  start  them  in  a  chamber  with 
bottom  heat  and  then  transplant  to  the  aquarium- terrarium. 

Now  about  our  club.  We  will  shortly  be  coming  into  the  use  of  the  neighborhood 
recreation  center  for  meetings.  We  plan  on  having  plant  shows,  lectures  and  slide 
shows.  I  would  like  everyone  to  know  that  we  would  greatly  appreciate  any  slides 
that  could  be  loaned  us.  We  need  anything  that  anyone  is  willing  to  contribute  in 
the  way  of  a  presentation  on  CP.  So,  if  you  have  any  pictures  or  slides  lying 
around  from  a  CP  trip  or  related  topic,  please  let  me  know. 

I  would  also  like  to  say  that  our  club  is  open  to  anyone  who  would  like  to 
join.  We  now  have  plans  for  a  color  bulletin  and  the  more  people  that  join  the 
cheaper  the  price.  It  stands  now  at  about  $1.75  per  bulletin.  So  if  you'd  like 
to  join  just  drop  a  line  to  me  at  5729  S.  2nd  Street,  Arlington,  VA  22204. 


I 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3  CPN  -  49  - 


From  OWEN  TALLMAN:  Just  remembered  there  were  two  mentions  in  last  CPN  that  you 
should  allow  commercial  firms  to  advertise  as  a  source  of  revenue.  Good  idea, 
but  also  something  to  consider  very  carefully  as  you  can  get  trapped  when,  in  the 
future,  you  come  to  count  on  the  ad  money  too  much  and  you  feel  the  pressure  to 
compromise.  I  have  a  suggestion.  Take  commercial  advertising  in  a  strictly  con¬ 
trolled  form.  Rather  than  a  yearly  March  listing  gratis  have  one  annual,  complete 
list,  free,  then  carry  a  part  of  a  page  as  a  paid  listing  (every  issue,  with  the 
same  content) — sort  of  a  controlled  classified  where  you  determine  exactly  what 
can  be  said.  For  instance,  each  firm  that  paid  $20.00  for  an  ad  would  get  name  and 
address  listed,  perhaps  a  slogan  or  "line  of  advertising"  as  in  the  phone  book,  and 
perhaps  a  list  of  available  genera,  whether  plants  and/or  seeds  are  sold  in  general, 
or  perhaps  if  books  and  supplies  are  sold.  I  would  appreciate  it  if,  should  such  a 
thing  come  about,  the  distinction  between  field-collected  and  our  horticultural  CP 
could  be  made.  I  think  in  general  that  such  a  listing  would  eliminate  jousting 
for  space  and  keep  the  editors  from  having  to  consider  the  truth  of  claims  made  in 
the  ads. 


SHORT  NOTES 


NOTES  ON  NEPENTHES  MIRABILIS  AND  OTHER 
CARNIVOROUS  PLANTS  IN  QUEENSLAND 

by  P.  S.  Lavarack 

Over  the  last  five  years  I  have  spent  several  weeks  each  year  travelling  in  remote 
parts  of  North  Queensland.  Much  of  this  work  has  centered  on  Cape  York  Peninsula, 
with  the  objective  of  locating  areas  suitable  for  National  Park  Reservations,  but  I 
have  taken  the  opportunity  to  indulge  my  botanical  interests  which  include  carni¬ 
vorous  plants  and  orchids.  Here  I  must  admit  that  while  my  orchid  work  has  been 
scientific,  including  the  discovery  and  formal  description  of  a  few  new  species, 
my  association  with  carnivorous  plants  has  been  rather  more  casual,  taking  the 
form  of  general  observations.  Nevertheless  the  following  notes  may  be  of  interest 
to  readers  of  CPN. 

Cape  York  Peninsula  is  a  large  triangular 
mass  of  land  about  550km  at  the  base  and 
700km  in  length.  The  climate  is  hot  all 
year  round  with  an  average  maximum  for  the 
hottest  month  (January)  of  32°C  and  for 
the  coldest  month  (July)  of  27 °C.  Respect¬ 
ive  average  minima  are  23 °C  and  18 °C. 

There  is  a  marked  dry  season  between  May 
and  November  during  which  about  10%  of  the 
yearly  rainfall  occurs.  Most  of  the  area 
is  low  lying,  there  are  few  high  mountains, 
but  there  is  a  plentiful  supply  of  small 
streams  and  rivers,  particularly  near  the 
eastern  coast.  The  soil  is  uniformly  poor, 
being  derived  from  mesozoic  sediments.  The 
major  vegetation  types  are  open  Eucalyptus- 
dominated  forest,  heath  and  some  limited 
areas  of  rain-forest. 

In  describing  the  carnivorous  plants  of 
this  area  I  will  divide  the  Peninsula  into 
two  parts:  Firstly  the  bulk  of  the  area 
and  secondly  a  small  area  in  the  southeast 
corner  situated  between  Cooktown  and  Towns¬ 
ville  and  west  about  100km. 

The  major  feature  of  the  Peninsula  proper  in  terms  of  carnivorous  plants  is  undoubt¬ 
edly  Nepenthes  mirabilis .  This  is  a  locally  very  abundant  plant  from  about  Coen 
north.  It  also  occurs  in  New  Guinea  and  many  other  localities  in  southeast  Asia 

and  is,  in  fact,  the  most  widespread  of  the  genus.  Cape  York  provides  an  extensive 

area  of  habitat  suitable  for  N.  mirabilis ,  particularly  near  the  east  coast.  It  is 
always  found  in  areas  that  are  at  least  seasonally  boggy — in  swamps  and  on  stream 
banks.  In  some  areas  the  soil  may  dry  out  in  the  long  dry  season,  and  I  have  quite 

often  seen  plants  growing  in  dry  sandy  soil  in  full  sun.  Many  of  the  moister  swamps 

have  only  very  low  vegetation  and  in  these  sunny  positions  Nepenthes  is  usually  a 
low  shrub  of  up  to  lm.  Such  plants  often  have  a  lot  of  red  colouring  in  leaves  and 
pitchers,  but  are  nonetheless  healthy.  In  more  shady  positions  this  plant  often 
grows  into  a  long  vine  climbing  up  to  10m  into  the  trees  and  bearing  very  few  pitch¬ 
ers  . 


50 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


The  pitchers  vary  in  size  from  about  4cm  to  about  25cm  but  most  are  in  the  8-12cm 
range.  Colour  is  also  variable  but  green  predominates--of ten  with  a  red  lid.  The 
upper  parts  of  the  pitcher  may  be  red  or  red-spotted  while  occasional  plants  may 
have  evenly  red  coloured  pitchers.  This  colouring  does  not  appear  to  be  entirely 
governed  by  sunlight  but  it  is  not  clear  just  to  what  extent  it  is  environmental. 

As  in  other  places,  a  peculiar  relationship  between  insect  larvae  and  the  pitchers 
has  been  noted.  Dr.  E.  N.  Marks  of  Brisbane  has  reported  three  species  of  mosquito 
which,  quite  probably,  breed  only  in  pitchers  (Marks  1971) ,  while  larvae  of  other 
insects  have  also  been  observed  doing  very  well  in  the  same  fluid  which  means 
death  to  most  other  insects. 

N.  mirabilis  has  been  collected  in  flower  in  August-September .  I  have  found  mature 
seeds  only  in  December  and  these  proved  to  have  a  good  rate  of  germination. 

Drosera.  Five  species  of  Drosera  occur  on  the  Peninsula — all  except  one  are  wide¬ 
spread  species  outside  Australia. 

D.  indica  occurs  across  the  north  of  Australia  and  at  least  as  far  south  as  Fraser 
Island.  It  occurs  in  wet,  but  sunny  areas  and  appears  to  be  in  evidence  at  all 
times  of  the  year. 

D.  burmanii  with  its  rosettes  of  usually  green  leaves  and  small  white  flowers 
appears  to  favour  more  sheltered  areas.  It  occurs  at  least  as  far  south  as  northern 
New  South  Wales. 

D.  spathulata .  A  common  plant  in  the  open  swamps  in  heath  vegetation.  It  has 
apparently  not  been  recorded  north  of  Cairns  previously  but  this  must  surely  be 
because  no  one  bothered  to  look. 

D.  petiolaris .  A  common  species  in  Northern  Australia,  it  prefers  better  drained 
positions  than  the  previously  described  species.  It  survives  the  dry  season  by 
forming  a  compact  resting  bud  which  quickly  grows  with  the  onset  of  the  wet  season. 

D.  banksii.  A  dwarf  species  with  elongate  stems,  this  plant  is  reasonably  common 
across  the  northern  part  of  the  continent  but  has  not  been  recorded  outside  Australia. 
It  is  often  overlooked  due  to  its  small  size.  I  have  seen  it  only  once,  on  the 
margin  of  a  swamp  in  half  shade. 

Utricularia  are  the  most  abundant  carnivorous  plants  in  Eastern  Australia,  but 
identification  remains  a  problem.  I  have  been  sending  specimens  to  Peter  Taylor  at 
Kew  and  so  far  the  following  species  have  been  recorded:  U.  chry santha ,  U.  oaerulea, 
U.  uliginosa,  U.  bifida,  U.  exoleta  and  an  undescribed  species.  Utricularia  species 
are  particularly  abundant  in  many  areas  and  there  is  a  good  chance  of  discovering 
further  new  species  in  the  future. 

One  other  genus  of  carnivorous  plants  occurs  in  this  area.  This  is  Byblis  lini flora, 
and  although  it  is  apparently  quite  common,  I  have  not  yet  stunbled  across  it.  It 
occurs  in  the  Northern  Territory  and  south  to  about  Rockhampton. 

In  the  southeast  part  of  the  Peninsula  between  Cooktown  and  Townsville,  the  climate 
is  much  less  seasonal,  and  rainforests  are  widespread.  Soil  types  vary,  being 
derived  granite  or  from  basalt  over  much  of  the  area,  but  on  the  whole  are  more 
fertile  than  those  further  north.  This  is  a  mountainous  area  of  year-round  humid 
climate  and  high  rainfall. 

It  is  isolated  from  the  moister  parts  of  the  Peninsula  by  a  very  dry  belt  of  low- 

lying  land.  These  conditions  have  given  rise  to  a  group  of  three  species  of  Drosera 

which  are  found  nowhere  else.  These  are  D.  schizandra,  D.  adelae  and  D .  prolifera. 

D.  sohizandra,  which  has  a  broad  leaf,  is  a  plant  of  the  humid,  shady  rainforests 
and  occurs  at  moderate  elevations  (300-1000m).  D.  adelae  is  more  common  usually 
along  creek  banks  and  in  swampy  areas  at  low  altitudes.  It  occurs  in  the  area  near 

Cardwell  where  plants  with  leaves  up  to  15cm  long  have  been  collected. 

Much  more  rarely  seen  is  D.  prolifera ,  which  apparently  is  restricted  to  the  area 
near  Thornton's  Peak.  The  original  collection  was  made  in  1932  and  since  then  no 
further  specimens  have  been  collected  to  my  knowledge.  I  can  recall  several  years  ago 
seeing  a  colony  of  plants  which  can  only  have  been  D.  prolifera  near  a  creek  in  the 
foothills  of  Thornton's  Peak  at  low  atlitude.  When  opportunity  permits  I  will  visit 
this  area  and  confirm  my  identification. 

Reference : 

Marks,  E.  N.  (1971).  Mosquitoes  that  breed  in  pitcher  plants. 

News  Bulletin  Ent .  Soc.  Qld.  78-8-10. 

(Received  April  28,  1977) 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


CPN 


51 


NOTES  ON  TUBEROUS  DR OS ERA  OF  WESTERN  AUSTRALIA 
by  Steve  Rose 


The  notes  will  list  Drosera  species  in  a  similar  sequence  as  appears  in  Rica 
Erickson's  book  Plants  of  Prey.  Numbers  correspond  to  book. 

19.  D.  species  is,  according  to  N.  Marchant  and  myself,  really  the  "hills"  form 
of  D.  bulbosa.  It  goes  deep  maroon  as  it  matures.  It  is  found  quite  wide¬ 
spread  in  loams,  gravel  and  silty  sands.  Plants  grow  from  4-10  cm  in  diameter 
depending  on  climatic  conditions.  Usually  the  leaves  vary  very  little  in 
shape  but  leaf  color  is  variable  depending  upon  age,  soil  and  sun  concentra¬ 
tion.  Usually  I  can  count  as  many  as  15  leaves  in  one  particular  specimen. 

The  flowers  often  appear  before  the  rosette  and  even  more  so  after  a  bushfire. 


20.  D.  bulbosa  (sand  form).  This  species  is  smaller  and  rarely  grows  more  than 
six  leaves.  It  always  is  found  deeply  colored  because  of  poor  soils,  and 
proportionately  sparse  shrubs  and  less  overhead  shade.  It  grows  in  several 
slow  drying  sand  swamps  in  association  with  D.  menziesii ,  D.  heterophylla , 
D.  gigantea  and  U.  menziesii .  The  tubers 
are  very  small  and  white  or  pink,  rarely 
deep  red.  The  "hills  form"  tuber  is 
always  dark  orange  and  size  varies  from 
a  few  mm  to  2  cm  in  width.  It  has  char¬ 
acteristic  scales  whereas  the  "sand  form" 
does  not.  The  "sand  form"  tuber  is  nearly 
round  in  shape  but  the  larger  sized  "hills 
form"  is  heart-shaped.  (Fig.  1) 


o 


SAND  FORM  HILL  FORM 


Fig.  1 


D.  bulbosa  (Mount  Many  Peaks  type) .  This  form  grows  in  shallow  soils  over 
laterite  rock  in  an  area  that  is  very  impoverished  and  poorly  drained.  The 
plants  are  extremely  small  compared  to  the  other  forms.  The  miniature  rosettes 
rarely  exceed  1  cm  in  diameter.  There  are  usually  1-2  flowers  which  are  nearly 
as  large  as  the  rosette.  Only  a  small  percentage  of  the  plants  flower  but  they 
seem  to  divide  adequately  by  vegetative  means.  The  plants  are  deep  red  in  color 
even  in  the  shade  of  shrubs  which  are  10-30  cm  tall.  There  are  normally  only 
3-5  leaves  per  plant. 

21.  D.  macrophylla .  This  plant  is  extremely  rare  because  of  the  destruction  of  its 
habitat  and  grows  under  Jam  trees  around  York  and  Northam,  about  50-60  miles 
east  of  Perth.  I  feel  that  no  one  has  this  species  in  cultivation.  I  have 
never  collected  it,  and  I  have  misnamed  D.  erythrorhiza  "hills  form"  as  D.  mac¬ 
rophylla.  There  are  many  differences  and  Erickson's  descriptions  are  accurate. 
This  species  does  not  develop  red  pigment  at  all. 

22.  D.  erythrorhiza .  There  are  two  main  forms:  the  sand  and  hill  forms.  The  sand 
form  is  the  one  drawn  in  Erickson's  book.  It  has  3-5  leaves  and  sometimes  6 
leaves  which  are  somewhat  more  blunt  than  the  "hills  form".  Strangely  enough,  it 
never  turns  a  deeper  color  than  the  "hills  form"  and  is  shorter  lived  in  terms  of 
surface  life.  It  goes  dormant  weeks  before  the  "hills  form"  and  also  tends  to 
flower  less  but  forms  dense  colonies  by  simple  division.  This  form  grows  in 
association  with  D.  macrantha,  D.  menziesii  (sand  form) 3  D.  pallida  and  some¬ 
times  D.  paleacea.  It  is  widespread  and  common  where  conditions  are  favorable. 
Always  found  in  well  drained  sand. 

The  "hills  form" is  a  robust  plant  that  is  found  in  laterite  gravel,  peaty  loam, 
loam,  silty  sand  and  heavy  soils.  It  grows  best  in  deep  shade  and  deep  leaf 
mold.  It  requires  well  drained  conditions  and  can  be  grown  in  fully  to  semi- 
exposed  sunlight.  Those  that  are  more  exposed  are  naturally  redder  and  longer 
lived  in  surface  life.  The  number  of  leaves  are  usually  8-10  in  number  and 
rarely  up  to  13  leaves.  The  tuber  size  averages  about  1. 5-3.0  cm  in  diameter 
whereas  the  sand  form  is  much  smaller.  Both  tubers  have  scales  and  are  deep 
red  in  color.  The  "hills  form" flowers  more  readily  without  fire  but  almost  all 
plants  of  adequate  size  will  flower  after  a  fire,  even  if  the  plant  completely 
exhausts  itself  and  dies.  This  is  not  uncommon.  This  form  is  by  far  the  most 
luxuriant  rosetted  Drosera  in  W.  A.  It  grows  up  to  15  cm  (actually  more)  across 
and  that  is  big!  Perhaps,  I  have  seen  some  larger  ones  but  the  measuring  tape 
was  not  at  hand.  The  big  ones  grow  in  filtered  sun  (never  direct)  in  45  inches 
of  rainfall  per  year,  well  drained,  deep  leaf  mold  and  loose  laterite  gravel 
which  are  all  perfect  conditions. 


23.  D.  zonaria.  This  is  a  beautifully  colored  Drosera  which  grows  in  a  variety  of 
locations  but  always  in  deep,  well-drained  silica  sand.  It  comes  up  late  and 
is  short  lived  on  the  surface.  It  readily  divides  but  usually  in  2-3  smaller 
tubers.  I've  seen  it  literally  carpet  the  ground  where  it  flourishes  in  cleared 
bush  and  where  conditions  are  right.  I  have  not  found  it  north  of  Perth  but  a 
lot  south  and  east  of  here.  It  turns  up  in  some  small,  sandy  pockets  at  the 
washouts  of  old  streams  that  may  cover  a  total  area  of  20-30  square  meters. 

I  really  don't  know  how  they  get  there  especially  when  they  rarely  flower! 

I  noticed  that  the  tubers  go  down  comparatively  deep  (about  15-20  cm)  and  are 
adequate  in  relation  to  the  size  of  the  plant.  The  tubers  are  scaled  and  deep 
red  in  color,  never  pale.  As  the  plants  dry  out,  they  turn  a  unique  golden 
orange  only.  This  species  is  extremely  constant. 

26.  D.  stolonifera.  There  are  about  three  main  forms  of  this  species.  The  forms 
vary  in  emergence  habit  and  branching. 

The  upright  form  (Fig.  2) .  This  form  resembles  D.  platypoda  but  is  much  more 
robust  and  goes  redder  in  color  with  leaf  differences.  This  form  likes  to 
grow  in  sand  as  well  as  laterite  soil  and  is  not  as  common  as  the  other  forms. 

The  flower  is  at  its  apex  of  growth  late  in  the  season  after  most  of  the  stem 
has  developed.  It  develops  more  red  pigment  than  other  forms  since  others  are 
more  orange. 

The  center  flowering  form  (Fig.  3) .  This  form  is  as  common  as  the  form  below 
and  the  only  difference  is  the  pre-emergence  of  the  flower  spike  in  the  center 
and  usually  there  are  no  flowers  on  the  stems  bearing  leaves. 

The  leaf-stem  flowering  form  (Fig.  4) .  Here  the  flower  usually  terminates  at 
the  apex  of  the  leaf  growth  which  is  present  on  many  branches  beginning  at 
ground  level. 

The  two  forms  above  vary  greatly  in  habit  in  different  locations.  They  are 
inconsistent  but  still  remain  distinct  from  the  upright  form  by  the  flowering 
habit  and  the  non-creeping  vegetative  bud.  The  creeping  bud  can  grow  and  break 
surface  and  then  meander  under  fine  or  deep  leaf  mold  for  a  few  to  10  cm  or  more. 
Then  the  bud  will  rise  a  little  and  slowly  swell  over  a  period  of  time.  Finally, 
it  will  grow  in  a  burst  and  complete  its  growing  cycle  above  ground.  D.  stolon¬ 
ifera  always  flowers  best  after  brushfires  although  they  are  not  absolutely 
imperative.  One  extreme  form  of  D.  stolonifera  grows  in  Cannington  swamps  area. 

It  has  black  pigmentation  on  all  of  the  glands  and  vivid  green  elsewhere.  Lack¬ 
ing  red  pigmentation  for  the  most  part,  this  form  comes  from  very  wet  sandy  peat 
and  is  an  uncommon  habitat  for  the  species. 

Usually,  all  the  forms  grow  in  well-drained  soils  of  differing  nature.  Commonly, 
it  is  found  in  laterite  soils  of  the  hills  area  and  in  part  shade  in  leaf  mold. 
Although  the  most  colorful  plants  rarely  grow  in  very  exposed  areas,  the  tuber 
is  always  deep  red,  scaled  and  dished  at  the  top  with  a  very  rounded  base  (Fig.  5) 
It  is  kidney-shaped  in  cross-section.  Its  range  occurs  over  most  of  the  state 
with  the  finest  specimens  found  in  the  heavier  rainfall  areas  (35-45  inches  per 
annum) . 


27.  D.  platypoda.  This  species  is  very  consistent  within  my  limited  experience  with 
it.  In  a  place  where  there  was  a  previous  brushfire,  I  have  seen  it  flower  only 
at  the  Stirling  Range.  The  soil  here  was  stony  laterite  mixed  with  white  sand 
and  a  heavy  concentration  of  humus.  The  soil  appeared  to  be  rather  poorly 

drained.  However,  in  an  area  east  and  west  of  Albany,  the  soils 
are  mostly  well-drained  sandy  loam  or  sandy  clay.  In  these 
locations,  the  soils  dry  out  in  summer  and  are  wet  again  by  win¬ 
ter  rains.  The  tuber  is  small  in  relation  to  the  size  of  the 
plant  (Fig.  6) .  It  is  usually  or  almost  always  oval-shaped  with  a 


Fig .  6 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


CPN 


53 


point  to  the  bottom.  I  have  never  seen  D.  platypoda  or  D.  stolonifera  growing 
together  or  even  in  close  proximity.  In  the  Stirling  range,  D.  platypoda  grows 
with  a  form  of  D.  platy stigma  and  around  Albany,  it  grows  with  or  near  D.  pallida 
(swamp  form),  D .  sulphurea,  and  another  unidentified  climber. 

28.  D.  ramellosa.  I  haven't  seen  this  species  yet. 

30.  D.  macrantha.  This  beautiful  species  is  extremely  common.  The  leaves  and  stem 
contain  no  red  pigments  but  develop  a  golden  green  color  of  pure  brilliance.  It 
turns  slightly  orange  as  it  matures  after  flowering.  The  flowers  are  scented  and 
are  large.  I  found  it  growing  in  a  variety  of  conditions  and  soils  over  the 
southwest.  The  sand  growing  specimens  develop  sooner  and  recede  to  larger 
tubers  than  the  hills  or  heavier  soil  forms.  It  seems  that  the  heavier  soil 
forms  not  only  emerge  later  but  recede  later.  In  both  extremes  of  soil  types, 
the  species  develops  to  its  utmost.  It  does  seem  more  prolific  in  sandy  soils 
surrounding  swampy  areas.  The  tuber  is  white  to  pale  cream  in  color  and  when 
bruised  there  is  a  reddish  brown  scab  formed.  On  exposure  to  sun  the  tubers 
can  take  on  a  pinkish  color.  Usually  the  tuber  is  kidney  shaped  and  has  small 
warts  all  over  the  surface  (Fig.  7) .  There  are  no  scales.  This  species  is  very 
This  species  is  very  consistent  throughout  its  range 
although  very  poor  soils  and  harsh  conditions  do  contribute 
to  extreme  growth  variations.  However,  standard  cultivation 
makes  equal  characteristics  of  all.  I  found  that  the  soils 
are  almost  always  well  drained,  fairly  rich,  and  it  prefers 
shade  or  the  necessity  of  having*  a  host  to  climb  upon.  In 
cultivation,  this  plant  can  grow  to  more  than  6  inches  in 
length  but  soon  recedes  at  the  end  of  flowering  regardless 
of  moisture  and  temperature. 

31.  D.  subhirtella.  This  species  is  another  brilliantly  yellow-flowered  semi¬ 
climbing  Drosera.  It  grows  in  poor  soils  of  heavy  texture  with  other  CPs.  It 
grows  in  the  wheatbelt  areas  with  rainfall  10-20  inches  per  annum.  Later  in 
the  season,  the  plant  does  turn  reddish  as  it  matures.  In  one  location,  I  have 
seen  plants  up  to  80  cm  tall  under  ideal  conditions,  but  this  is  uncommon.  At 

a  location  close  to  Perth,  they  grow  in  a  layer  of  heavy  soil  over  granite  rocks 
with  D.  bulbosa  and  D.  erythrorhiza .  The  tuber  is  smooth,  round  to  kidney  shape 
and  bright  yellow  in  color. 

32.  D .  strictacaulis .  A  golden  green  plant  with  attractive  flowers  which  is  uncom¬ 
monly  found  in  its  normal  habitat  because  of  destruction,  or  salt  intrusion 
through  land  clearing  as  well  as  other  pollutants.  It  prefers  shady  conditions 
with  soils  of  a  heavy  texture  and  poorly  drained,  but  drying  in  late  spring- 
summer.  The  tuber  is  oval  and  small,  red,  scaled  and  usually  not  too  deep.  The 
growth  habit  is  in  the  form  of  clusters  of  up  to  3,  4,  5  plants  with  several 
seedlings  surrounding  it.  It's  quite  a  beautiful  sight  on  a  sunny,  humid  day. 

33.  D.  andersoniana .  Not  seen  as  yet. 

34.  D.  menziesii .  This  species  is  a  variable  erect  or  semi-erect  sundew  with  three 
main  forms  and  possibly  two  distinct  species,  but  not  enough  information  is 
known . 

Swamp  form.  Sometimes  called  the  heath  form  which  commonly  grows  in  nearly  all 
swamps  in  the  northwest  that  can  be  habitable  to  CPs.  It  grows  from  a  few  centi¬ 
meters  to  about  20  centimeters.  Its  tuber  is  dark  red,  small  and  buried  not  too 
deep.  The  plant  develops  an  intense  maroon  pigment  to  the  extent  that  there  is 
no  green  to  be  found  on  the  plant  at  all.  These  Droseras  appearing  with  thousands 
of  large  pink  flowers  swaying  in  a  gentle  breeze  is  something  not  easily  forgotten. 
The  swamp  form  grows  in  a  variety  of  locations  and  soil  types.  Soils  range  from 
very  poorly  drained  sands  to  pure  peat  or  to  mud  or  clay.  Often,  they  form 
clumps  of  plants  up  to  20-30  in  number.  These  tufts  appear  at  a  distance  like 
dark  red  shrubs  or  small  bushes.  It  grows  with  D.  pulchella,  D.  heterophylla, 

D.  gigantea,  D.  neesi  and  others. 

Wheatbelt  form.  This  form  is  unusual  because  of  the  definite  blood  red  or  crim¬ 
son  flower  as  compared  with  the  pale  to  dark  pink  or  even  light  mauve  in  the 
sand  form.  Under  good  conditions,  this  form  grows  a  little  larger  than  the 
swamp  form  but  generally  is  much  smaller  in  very  exposed  areas.  Again,  this 
form  has  the  deep  red-maroon  pigmentation.  I  found  it  growing  in  association 
with  D.  leucoblasta,  D.  pycnoblasta  and  sometimes  D.  zonaria ,  and  D.  pallida 
in  the  low  rainfall  areas. 

Sand  form.  This  form  is  very  large — up  to  70-80  or  even  100  cm  high.  It  is 
erect  but  large  plants  are  always  in  company  of  a  leaning  post.  This  form  has 


54 


CPN 


Vol  VI,  No.  3 


<  t  ■ 


a  pale  mauve  to  pink  flower  and  is  larger  than  the  other  forms.  The  tuber  is 
unusual,  being  pale  pink  in  color,  small  and  very  deep.  Most  tubers  are 
found  so  deep  that  it's  almost  unreasonable  to  dig  them  up  since  they  go  down 
about  30-50  cm  in  hard  soils.  Usually,  they  go  down  25-30  cm  but  break  off 
easily  when  the  final  move  is  made.  The  plants  go  redder  as  they  mature,  but 
usually  most  retain  some  green  coloring.  It  grows  always  in  well-drained  areas 
and  is  found  in  association  with  D.  macrantha ,  D.  pallida,  D.  paleacea ,  D.  eryth- 
rorhizia  (sand),  D.  zonaria ,  D.  stolonifera  (sand  form) .  At  one  location  this 
form  grows  in  abundance  on  the  slopes  of  a  stream  and  in  association  with 
D.  platy stigma,  D.  miniata,  D.  erythrorhiza  and  D.  bulbosa  "hills"  form.  The 
soil  was  laterite  of  a  heavy  texture  with  thick  scrub  and  small  trees.  This 
may  be  an  unclassified  species  but  right  now  it's  known  as  D.  menziesii. 

35.  D.  microphylla .  This  is  an  attractive,  erect  and  uncommon 

sundew.  Its  leaf  and  stem  have  a  combination  of  deep  green 
and  almost  irridescent  red.  The  flower  is  bizarre  and  easily 
noticed  when  in  flower.  I  find  that  this  plant  is  hard  to 
find  but  usually  grows  in  shady  locations  and  in  leaf  mold 
around  tall  trees  in  laterite  soils.  It  forms  clumps  up  to  Fig.  8 

six  or  more  plants  with  seedlings  nearby.  The  tuber  is  small 

and  oval,  deep  red  and  scaled  (Fig.  8).  Erickson  reports  that  this  species 
grows  in  tussocks  on  granite  rocks  but  as  yet  I  have  not  seen  it  in  this 
habitat.  Plants  are  much  larger  further  south  in  wetter  areas. 

36.  D.  huegelii.  Only  once  have  I  seen  this  species  (about  five  years  ago) 
but  I  can't  remember  much. 

37.  D .  heterophylla .  This  species  is  fairly  common  in  wet  areas  that  dry  in  summer. 
It  is  not  fussy  with  soil  just  as  long  as  it's  wet  in  winter  and  spring.  It 
often  forms  dense  colonies  and  usually  in  associaton  with  D.  bulbosa  and 

D.  menziesii.  The  tuber  is  white,  smooth  and  round  with  a  slightly 

top.  Sometimes  it  is  slightly  scaled.  It  turns  yellow-brown  when  bruised. 

The  tuber  is  never  found  buried  too  deep  and  is  usually  covered  with  black  rem¬ 
nants  of  previous  growth.  The  flowers  are  white  and  many  petalled,  large  and 
faintly  perfumed.  The  leaves  and  stalk  are  semi-irr idescent  orange-green  while 
the  glands  are  black  pigmented.  It's  a  rather  colorful  plant  with  many  contrasts 
that  is  easy  to  grow  and  often  forms  consistent  dense  clumps. 

38.  D.  pallida.  This  species  is  a  variable  climbing  sundew— a  smooth  mostly  green 

plant.  It  is  very  rarely  that  this  plant  develops  any  dark  pigmentation  at  all. 
An  extreme  form  I  once  gathered  at  Badginarra,  north  of  Perth,  had  tubers  about 
4-6  cm  in  diameter  and  grew  extremely  tall  (2m) .  They  grew  with  D.  drummondi  in 
very  well-drained  coarse  quartz  sand  with  about  10-20%  laterite  rock.  They  were 
on  a  slope  of  a  laterite  hill.  Nowhere  within  one  hundred  miles  did  I  see  any 
more  D.  pallida  to  match  these  for  their  robust  habit.  These  tubers  developed 
mostly  yellow  and  rarely  pink  pigment.  Specimens  from  local  haunts  are  varied 

in  size  but  vegetatively  consistent.  It  grows  in  most  soils  around  here  and 

down  south  but  favors  sandy  conditions  where  it  can  climb  on  a  host. 

The  tuber  is  white  or  very  pale  cream,  sometimes  yellowish  when  exposed  to  the 
sun,  or  rarely  pink  (pale) .  It  has  warts  similar  to  D.  macrantha  but  not  as 
pronounced.  (More  like  pits  than  warts!!)  The  shape  varies  with  the  shape  of 
the  surrounding  soil,  but  usually  is  round  to  kidney  shaped.  One  form  that 
grows  down  in  the  swamps  with  Cephalotus  f ollicularis  has  small  pink  or  reddish 
tubers  and  is  almost  smooth  in  texture.  This  form  grows  more  than  8  feet  in 
length  and  may  be  a  new  species.  It  is  rather  long  lived  above  the  ground. 

40.  D.  bulbigena.  I've  seen  this  species  only  once  growing  near  Waterloo  in  a  swamp 

by  the  side  of  the  road.  The  soil  was  sandy  peat  that  dries  out  in  summer.  It 

was  hard  and  very  poorly  drained.  Unspoiled  or  intact  plants  are  almost  impos¬ 
sible  to  find  since  the  plant  is  very  small.  I  never  saw  the  tubers. 

41.  D.  modesta.  I've  seen  this  species  only  once,  also  in  South  Sterlings,  growing 
in  sandy  soil  in  relation  with  supporting  shrubs.  This  yellow-green  plant  is 
usually  found  in  well-drained  soil. 

42.  D.  sulphurea.  This  uncommon  species  is  limited  in  its  range  to  constantly  damp 
swamps  with  adequate  exposure.  It's  associated  with  Cephalotus  and  other  swamp 
Drosera  and  Utricularia.  The  flower  is  a  very  conspicuous  brilliant  yellow. 

The  soil  ranges  from  sandy  peat  to  pure  peat  moss  and  the  yellow  colored  tuber 
is  slightly  pitted  sometimes.  It  seems  to  have  a  long  life  above  the  soil  line 
in  Spring  and  Summer,  but  it  is  late  rising  as  other  Southern  swamp  species  are. 
The  leaves  and  stem  rarely  develop  darker  pigment  because  it  is  nearly  always 
sheltered  somewhat.  Finally,  it  grows  fairly  consistently  throughout  its  range. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


CPN 


55 


43.  D.  neesii.  This  species  is  fairly  common  in  varying  habitats  that  are  always 
dry  by  summer.  It  never  develops  any  red  pigment  and  appears  always  golden- 
green  with  a  pink  flower.  The  tuber  is  a  smallish  pink  color  and  round  to 
kidney  shape  and  smooth.  Being  a  very  late  riser,  it  is  still  around  when  other 
tuberous  plants  are  going  dormant  even  when  the  soil  has  dried  somewhat.  This 
species  is  also  very  consistent  throughout  its  range. 

44.  D.  myriantha.  This  uncommon  species  grows  in  mossy  swamps  around  Cephalotus  in 
soils  ranging  from  sandy  peat  to  living  moss.  It  can  continue  to  grow  after 
flowering  as  can  the  other  swamp  growing  climbing  species  and  shows  consistent 
characteristics  throughout  its  range. 

47.  D.  gigantea.  This  plant  resembles  asparagus  shoots  as  it  emerges  from  dormancy. 

It  is  late  in  rising  from  its  deep  cool  hideaway  in  the  soil.  The  shoots  come 
up  with  folded  scales  with  a  smooth  appearance  and  are  either  yellow-green  or 
deep  red  in  color.  Pigmentation  is  very  diverse  varying  from  pale  yellowish 
green  to  deep  maroon.  The  whole  plant  is  very  striking  especially  when  seen  in 
colonies  around  the  perimeters  of  some  swamps.  It  is  rather  common  and  as  long 
as  there  is  slow  moving  water  in  winter  and  little  competition  for  summer  mois¬ 
ture,  then  you  will  probably  find  this  species  there.  Its  habitat  usually  dries 
out  in  summer  but  does  so  very  slowly.  The  flowers  are  small,  white  and  numerous. 
The  whole  plant  usually  keeps  on  growing  until  conditions  become  too  inadequate 
and  then  it  recedes  to  the  deep  tuber.  Tubers  of  mature  plants  can  be  3-4  cm 
in  diameter  with  a  deep  red  outershell  but  orange  inside,  scaled,  kidney  shaped 
and  easily  damaged. 

It  grows  in  association  with  many  other  CPs,  although  in  some  habitats  this  is 
the  only  species  that  can  survive.  This  is  especially  so  in  salty  creeks  or 
heaths  where  other  CPs  have  been  wiped  out  years  ago.  Vagrant  and  introduced 
grasses  and  annual  herbs  which  colonize  wetlands  do  not  seem  to  worry  this  species 
unduly  but  seedlings  cannot  survive--only  the  mature  plants. 

D.  species  (El  Cabello  Blanco) .  This  new  species  is  found  from  the  Great  Eastern 
Highway,  near  a  horse  stud  farm  called  El  Cabello  Blanco.  There  is  only  one  small 
location  left  near  this  place  and  soon  it  will  be  gone.  Although  this  species 
resembles  others  in  the  D.  rosulata  group,  much  more  work  has  to  be  done.  It  seems 
that  the  plant  never  develops  red  pig¬ 
mentation  but  instead  remains  golden 
green  with  darker  glandular  pigmen¬ 
tation  that's  almost  black  in  some 
plants.  It  grows  in  a  heath  of  an 
even  textured  poorly  drained  loam. 

Nearby,  D.  bulbosa  (hills  form)  and 
D.  menziesii  and  several  native  ter¬ 
restrial  orchids  grow  here.  D.  macro- 
phylla  is  closely  related  to  this 
species . 

This  ends  my  list  of  tuberous  Drosera 
of  SW.  -  West  Australia,  but  there 
are  a  few  more  species  identified  or 
unidentified  as  yet  that  I  have  not 
found  or  seen.  So,  in  a  future 
article  I  will  describe  them  for  you. 

(Received  May  6,  1977) 


We  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  PHIL  MANN 
for  providing  us  with  the  information 
and  plot  of  the  various  tuberous  Droseras 
which  grow  in  Western  Australia.  The 
numbers  refer  to  the  species  described  by 
STEVE  ROSE  and  some  of  their  locations. 
The  enclosed  numbers  refer  to  major  high¬ 
way  routes  in  the  area. 


TEMPERATURE  AND  DORMANCY  by  Don  Schnell 


I  think  the  question  most  often  asked  regarding  temperature  is  about  the  extremes: 
How  high  or  how  low  a  temperature  will  my  plants  withstand?  The  answer  is  not  at 
all  simple  and  generalizations  may  not  apply  to  your  particular  species  or  situa¬ 
tions  . 

Generally,  the  upper  extremes  of  temperature  a  "typical"  carnivorous  plant  will 
endure  without  dying  are  related  to  the  character  of  its  native  habitat,  and 
whether  humidity  elevation  also  accompanies  an  increase  in  air  and  soil  tempera¬ 
tures.  Regarding  the  first  factor,  a  cool  growing  plant  of  S.  purpurea  ssp. 
purpurea  or  Drosera  linearis  native  to  cool  bogs  of  northern  Michigan  or  Canada 
will  not  do  as  well  transplanted  to  outdoors  Florida  as  would  a  plant  of  S.  pur¬ 
purea  ssp.  venosa  or  other  Drosera  obtained  much  further  south.  Obviously,  as 
anyone  who  has  bogged  in  the  north  knows,  summer  air  temperatures  midday  can  be¬ 
come  awfully  stifling — but  plunge  your  hand  into  the  sphagnum  and  note  how  cool 
rhizomes  and  roots  are  due  to  the  percolation  of  cold  spring  waters  and  the  nat¬ 
ural  cooling  effect  of  sphagnum.  The  problem  of  growing  Darlingtonia  in  very  hot 
climates  has  been  discussed  often  in  past  issues  of  CPN,  as  another  example. 

The  second  factor  involved  in  upper  temperature  extreme  endurance  is  a  bit  more 
ephemeral  and  relative.  Generally,  many  CP  can  endure  higher  temperatures  during 
the  active  growing  season  if  the  humidity  is  also  elevated.  During  particularly 
bright  (and  dry)  days,  the  temperature  of  my  Nepenthes  house  often  rises  to  120°F, 
but  there  is  no  harm  since  I  keep  the  relative  humidity  up  to  80%+.  However, 
Nepenthes  root  systems  clearly  must  be  genetically  more  tolerant  of  higher  tempera¬ 
tures  since  this  same  concept  would  never  work  with  our  previous  examples  of  north¬ 
ern  Sarracenia  and  Drosera. 

As  far  as  low  temperature  extremes,  again  refer  back  to  the  plant's  native  habitat. 
In  North  America,  I  do  not  believe  any  of  us  would  subject  our  exotic  tropicals  to 
freezing,  but  they  will  adapt  to  temperatures  just  above  freezing  during  dormant 
periods.  A  friend  once  lost  all  of  his  Drosera  capensis  during  a  power  failure 
and  they  came  back  from  roots  the  following  spring.  This  brings  out  the  point  that 
as  long  as  rhizomes  and  roots  do  not  freeze  hard,  many  CP  are  quite  hardy  to  at 
least  short  periods  of  very  cold  temperatures.  In  North  America,  all  native  CPs 
can  be  overwintered  outdoors  as  far  north  as  Michigan  as  long  as  there  is  some 
protection  against  deep  freezing,  such  as  burying  pots  or  tubs  in  the  ground, 
mulching  or  snow  cover.  However,  I  would  strongly  advise  an  outdoor  overwinter 
experiment  with  some  excess  plants  if  you  have  any  doubts  about  your  area.  Also, 
beware  of  frost  "heaving"  which  gradually  works  previously  buried  rhizomes  up 
into  freezing  air. 

Regarding  dormancy,  all  temperate  growing  plants  require  a  period  of  winter 
dormancy.  If  you  are  growing  outdoors,  you  will  have  no  problem.  In  greenhouses, 
you  will  have  to  reduce  temperatures  and  watering  (to  just  barely  damp  soil)  as 
photoperiods  decrease  and  winter  comes  on.  Under  lights,  you  will  have  to  do  all 
of  the  above  plus  shorten  your  photoperiod  in  daily  increments.  If  you  try  to 
force  plants  prematurely  from  dormancy  or  try  to  bypass  it  altogether,  you  are 
inviting  rot.  Dormancy  and  light  (see  previous  Beginner's  Corner)  are  the  two 
most  difficult  areas  I  have  seen  with  beginning  growers. 

Even  tropicals  have  a  modified  period  of  dormancy,  this  most  often  corresponding 
to  dry  periods  in  the  native  habitat  rather  than  winter  cooling  and  shorter  photo¬ 
period.  These  rhythms  will  most  often  continue  into  cultivation  and  you  will  note 
a  slowdown  in  plant  growth,  often  during  warm  weather.  At  this  point,  give  the 
plant  a  bit  more  shade  and  decrease  watering  until  it  again  shows  increasing  growth 
at  which  time  gradually  place  back  into  optimum  light  and  watering  conditions  for 
that  species. 

Dormancy  has  evolved  in  plants  as  a  natural  protective  mechanism  against  inclement 
conditions.  A  tender,  growing  plant  is  less  likely  to  withstand  freezing  than  a 
metabolically  resting  plant  or  a  hibernaculum  or  over-wintering  bud  (e.g.  Drosera 
filiformis,  D.  intermedia,  etc.).  Further,  biological  clock  mechanisms  are  often 
built  in  so  that  the  plant  must  have  a  minimum  time  in  dormancy  or  be  exposed  to 
a  minimum  temperature  before  it  will  properly  resume  growth,  and  then  must  be  in 
appropriate  conditions.  You  may  wish  to  experiment  with  refrigeration,  but  again 
do  so  only  with  material  you  can  spare. 


Next  is  Water  and  Growing  Medium  by  Joe  Mazrimas. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


CPN 


Flowers,  Sex,  and  Hybridization 
in  Carnivorous  Plants 

The  flower  is  a  remarkably  specialized  plant 
organ.  It  is  characteristic  exclusively  of  the 
Flowering  Plants  ( Angiosperms)  of  which  there  are 
some  300,000  living  on  the  earth  today.  They  are 
by  far  the  dominant  life  forms  in  most  habitats, 
and  they  owe  a  large  part  of  their  success  to  the 
efficient  functioning  of  the  flower  in  sexual 
reproduction. 

Sexual  reproduction  is  important  in  the  life  of 
plants  and  animals  because  it  allows  for  the  com¬ 
bination  of  different  genetic  material  from  two 
parents  into  the  offspring,  creating  a  great  deal 
of  genetic  diversity  necessary  for  long  term  adap¬ 
tation  to  continually  changing  and  diverse  habitats. 
Flower  production  is  one  of  the  most  highly  tuned 
and  coordinated  processes  in  the  plant  kingdom. 

The  flower  is  specifically  designed  to  bear  sex  organs  (male  stamens,  and  female 
pistils)  and  to  attract  the  insects  (and  other  animals)  so  important  for  ensuring 
cross  pollination.  The  large,  colorful  petals  are  the  main  attractive  organs  while 
nectar  may  also  act  as  a  lure  and  a  reward.  In  order  to  be  more  successful  with 
routine  seed  production  and  special  attempts  at  hybridization  of  different  species 
when  dealing  with  our  hobby  of  growing  CP  at  home,  it  is  desirable  to  understand  how 
the  flower  works  and  what  the  possible  arrangements  can  be. 

The  most  desirable  situation  from  the  plant's  point  of  view  when  engaging  in  sexual 
reproduction  is  of  course  for  outcrossing ,  that  is,  for  the  -pollen  (containing  sperm 
and  produced  by  the  stamens)  of  one  flower  to  be  carried  to  the  stigma  (receptive 
portion  of  the  female  pistil)  of  another  flower  on  a  different  plant  of  the  same 
species.  This  brings  about  the  uniting  of  the  most  different  genetic  material  from 
the  parents  to  the  offspring  (seed) .  Most  plants  go  to  great  lengths  to  ensure  out- 
crossing;  the  following  is  an  enumeration  of  the  possible  situations. 

Flowers  may  be  perfect  (a  single  flower  bearing  both  male  and  female  organs)  or  im¬ 
perfect  (a  single  flower  being  either  male  or  female,  but  not  both) .  We  will  con¬ 
sider  perfect  flowers  first: 

PERFECT  FLOWERS 

Set f -pollinating :  while  most  plants  want  to  cross-pollinate ,  if  this  does  not 

happen,  self-pollination  may  occur.  This  happens  when  the  pollen  is  deposited 
on  the  stigma  of  the  same  flower.  Self-pollination  is  usually  a  last  resort 
when  an  insect  does  not  come  to  transfer  pollen  to  another  flower;  it  ensures 
that  at  least  some  seed  are  produced  for  the  next  generation.  Mechanically, 
this  is  accomplished  by  the  movement  of  the  stamens,  or  the  stigmas,  so  that 
they  come  in  contact  with  one  another.  You  can  do  it  with  a  small  brush  gent¬ 
ly  moved  about  inside  the  flower,  making  sure  all  stamens  and  stigmas  are 
touched  in  the  process. 

CP  which  exhibit  self-pollination  are:  (at  least  some)  Sundews  and  Cephalotus  (?). 
Some  Sundews  and  very  small  Bladderworts  may  exhibit  a  type  of  self-pollination 
where  the  flowers  never  open.  This  is  termed  cleistogamy ,  and  seed  production 
occurs  only  by  self-pollination.  We  do  not  know  why  this  occurs,  but  it  seems 
to  be  successful  for  the  plants  which  exhibit  it. 

Cross -pollination  may  be  ensured  in  two  ways: 

Self -incompatibility  (genetic):  this  occurs  when,  even  though  both  sex  organs 
are  produced  in  the  same  flower,  the  pollen  will  not  function  on  the  stigma  of 
the  same  flower  in  which  it  was  produced.  Thus  each  flower  can  both  give  and 
receive  pollen,  but  another  flower  must  be  involved  in  every  case  of  successful 
seed  production.  There  is  usually  a  chemical  factor  involved  which  prevents 
"self"  pollen  from  functioning.  In  some  cases,  two  flowers  on  the  same  plant 
will  be  different  enough  genetically  to  cross,  while  in  most  cases,  the  two 
flowers  must  be  on  entirely  different  plants  to  overcome  the  genetic  incompati¬ 
bility  factor.  This  implies  that  two  plants  which  originally  came  from  the 
same  clump,  or  rootstock,  even  when  separated  and  grown  as  individuals,  will 
not  produce  seed  when  crossed.  Each  parent  must  be  from  a  separate  original 
plant,  and  not  from  a  clone,  or  clump  of  vegetatively  propagated  individuals. 

This  is  the  most  common  way  of  ensuring  cross-pollination  and  is  best  exhibited 
by  Venus'  Flytrap. 


-  57  - 


BOTANIST'S  CORNER 


M 

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58 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


While  many  CP  can  be  self -pollinated  by  hand,  cross-pollination  is 
desirable  and  can  be  accomplished  by  taking  pollen  on  a  brush  from  one 
plant  and  gently  brushing  the  stigmas  of  the  flowers  on  another  plant, 
and  doing  the  reciprocal.  Thus  you  cross-pollinate  two  flowers  at  the 
same  time.  There  is  very  little  knowledge  about  which  CP  are  actually 
self -sterile ,  as  it  is  termed.  The  more  common  situation  is  the  following: 

Mechanical  prev ention  of  self-pollination:  In  this  case,  the  stamens  and 
pistils  of  each  flower  are  positioned  in  such  a  way  that  the  stamens  can 
never  deposit  pollen  on  their  own  stigmas — an  insect  (or  human!)  must 
intervene.  Usually  the  flowers  are  irregular  in  shape  and  the  stamens 
and  pistils  are  hard  to  see;  you  almost  have  to  dissect  the  flower  to 
find  them.  Thus,  hand  pollination  is  difficult  and  practice  is  needed. 

In  all  cases,  however,  nature  has  "fixed"  it  so  that  certain  insects  are 
perfectly  adapted  to  "fit"  into  each  species  of  plant's  flower.  Thus, 
each  size  and  shape  of  flower  attracts  a  particular  size  and  shape  insect 
to  pollinate  it,  sometimes  exclusively.  This  keeps  natural  hybridizations 
between  species  to  a  minimum. 

The  CP  which  exhibit  this  situation  are  Utricularia ,  Pinguicula,  Sarracenia , 
and  Darlingtonia .  Small  bees  and  flies  effectively  pollinate  the  former 
two;  while  large  bees,  such  as  bumble  bees,  work  on  the  larger  flowers  of 
the  latter  two.  Very  little  work  has  been  published  on  the  pollination 
biology  of  CP. 

To  cross  these  types  at  home,  you  must  first  find  the  stamens,  then  trans¬ 
fer  pollen  by  brush  to  the  stigma  of  another  flower  on  the  same  plant,  or 
more  likely,  different  plant  (depending  on  whether  or  not  that  species  is 
self  compatible) .  Sarracenia  are  self-compatible.  Try  different  combina¬ 
tions  and  keep  records  of  your  crosses  and  see  what  works. 

IMPERFECT  FLOWERS 

Separate  male  and  female  plants:  In  CP,  there  is  one  situation  where  cross¬ 
pollination  is  absolutely  ensured.  This  occurs  in  Nepenthes  where  the 
flowers  on  a  given  plant  are  unisexual ,  either  male  or  female,  but  not 
both.  The  plants  are  thus  either  male  or  female.  (In  some  other  species  of 
plants,  the  male  and  female  flowers  may  be  in  different  places  on  the  same 
plant.)  In  Nepenthes,  then,  an  insect  must  carry  pollen  from  one  plant  to 
another.  In  nature  this  may  sometimes  present  a  problem  if  the  two  plants 
are  not  growing  near  one  another;  but  usually  the  insect  can  locate  the 
opposite  sex  with  no  trouble.  In  cultivation,  it  is  another  problem  because 
female  plants  of  Nepenthes  are  relatively  rare;  and  when  a  grower  has  both 
sexes,  they  may  not  always  bloom  at  the  same  time  as  they  do  in  nature. 

When  they  do  coincide,  it  is  a  simple  task  to  transfer  pollen.  If  you  are 
dealing  with  the  same  species,  or  two  species  which  are  capable  of  hybridizing, 
good  seed  set  should  occur. 

(To  be  continued) 


In  the  next  issue: 

"Unseasonal  Blooming  in  Sarracenia  in  Western  Florida"  by  Landon  T.  Ross 
"Of  Barn  Swallows  and  Droseras"  by  Owen  Tallman 

"Building  Your  Own  Solar  Water  Distiller"  by  Scott  A.  Richardson 
"Carnivorous  Plant  Companies"  by  Glenn  Claudi-Magnussen 

"Where  We  Came  from  and  Where  We  Hope  to  Go"  by  Joe  Mazrimas  and  Don  Schnell 


REVIEW  0£  RECENT  LITERATURE 

Casper,  S.J.  and  K.  Kondo .  1977.  A  new  species  of  Pinguicula  from  Mexico. 

Brittonia  29:112-115. 

Annual  or  bienniel  Pinguicula  sharpii  (Sect.  Isoloha,  2n=16)  from  Chiapas, 
Mexico  is  described  for  the  first  time.  The  plant  is  quite  small  and  must 
be  reproduced  by  seed. 

Chhabra,  S.C.,  Gupta,  S.R.,  Seshadri,  T.R.  and  Sharma,  N.D.  Chemical  investigation 
of  Dikamali  gum:  Isolation  of  two  new  flavones.  Indian  J.  Chem  Sect  B  Org. 
Chem  Incl .  Med.  Chem.  14 ( 9) : 651- 6 53  1976. 

Two  new  flavones  were  isolated  from  the  above  gum.  One  of  them  is  isoscutel- 
larein  which  was  previously  isolated  from  Pinguicula  vulgaris. 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


CPN 


59 


Clancy,  F.G.  and  Coffey,  M.  Acid  phosphatase  and  protease  release  by  the  insectivor¬ 
ous  plant  Drosera  rotundi folia .  Can  J.  Bot.  55  (  4)  : 480-488  1977. 

When  plants  were  given  gelatin,  enzymes  were  released  1-2  days  after  feeding. 
Maximum  was  reached  after  4  days  and  declined.  Both  enzymes  had  optimal 
activity  at  acid  pH.  The  authors  discuss  the  apparent  induction  of  the  acid 
phosphatase  enzyme. 

Hortus  Third:  A  Concise  Dictionary  of  Plants  Cultivated  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada.  L.H.  Bailey  Hortorium,  Cornell  Univ.  1290  p.  Macmillan  Pub.  Co., 

New  York,  N.Y.  1976.  $99.50 

This  7  lb.  book  is  a  monumental  opus  which  is  concise  and  is  really  a  dictionary, 
not  an  identification  manual,  on  many  types  of  plants  including  our  beloved  CP. 
This  dictionary  joins  the  other  classic  productions  from  the  Bailey  Hortorium 
which  also  describe  CP  in  historical  perspective.  They  are:  Cyclopedia  of 
American  Horticulture  (1900-1902),  Standard  Cyclopedia  of  Horticulture  (1914— 
1917),  Hortus  (1930),  Hortus  Second  (1941),  and  Manual  of  Cultivated  Plants 
(1940,  1949) . 

Jung,  W.,  Utricularia  turions  (winter  buds)  from  the  interglacial  period  of  Zeifen/ 
upper  Bavaria.  Mitt.  Bayer  Staatssamml.  Palaeontol.  Hist.  Geol  16,  99-104 
1976. 

A  number  of  hairy  turions  were  found  in  West  Germany  in  the  Eemian  (Quaternary) 
which  were  determined  to  be  of  the  genus  Utricularia. 

Kohlmeyer,  J.  New  records  of  angiosperms  and  terrestrial  fungi  from  Carteret  Co., 

N.C.  J.  Elisha  Mitchell  Sci.  Soc.  92(l):27-30  1976. 

One  of  the  rare  plants  listed  is  Sarracenia  rubra. 

Komiya,  S.  Exotic  species  of  the  Lentibulariaceae  in  Japan  Part  2.  Bull.  Nippon 
Dental  Univ.,  Gen.  Ed.  Vol  6  1-  21  (1977). 

This  article  diagrams  and  pictures  25  species  of  carnivorous  plants  grown  in 
Japan  belonging  to  three  genera:  Pinguicula,  Polypompholyx  and  Utricularia . 

Kondo,  K.  Segawa,  M.  &  Nehira,  K.  A  cytotaxonomic  study  in  four  species  of  Drosera . 
Mem.  Faculty  Integrated  Arts  &  Sciences.  Ser.  IV,  Vol.  2:27-36  1976. 

The  chromosome  numbers  of  three  species  of  Drosera  are:  D.  diehrosepala  Turcz. 
(2n=18) ,  D.  pulchella  Lehmann  (2n=18) ,  and  D.  pygmaea  DC.  (2n=28) .  The  basic 
chromosome  number  of  the  former  two  species,  X=9 ,  may  cover  the  gap  between 
X=8  and  X=10  in  the  aneuploid  Drosera.  The  D.  adelae  F.  Muell  listed  here 
(2n=30)  differs  from  that  published  previously  (2n=28;  Kondo  1976). 

Lichtner,  F.T.  and  S.E.  Williams.  1977.  Prey  capture  and  factors  controlling 
trap  narrowing  in  Dionaea  (Droseraceae) .  Amer.  J.  Bot.  64:881-886. 

Having  defined  and  described  the  nature  of  and  action  potentials  involved  in 
the  fast  phase  of  closure,  the  authors  now  turn  to  aspects  of  capture  and 
the  second  or  "narrowing"  ("sealing")  phase  of  closure.  The  data  indicate 
that  this  latter  phase  as  well  as  secretion  are  initiated  by  mechanical  stimu¬ 
lation  (action  potentials  detected  on  trap  surface  for  many  hours  after  capture) 
and  maintained  by  chemical  stimulation  (of  hemolymph  contents)  after  death  of 
the  prey.  Various  chemical  substances  were  evaluated  for  their  effects  (or  lack 
of  effect)  on  narrowing  and  secretion  by  instillation  into  closed  traps  in  the 
laboratory,  and  results  are  tabulated.  A  list  of  field  prey  indicates  that 
there  is  no  particular  attraction  to  particular  insects  and  most  seem  to  be 
trapped  as  they  wander  in  or  seek  a  resting  place.  Nearly  a  third  of  such  prey 
in  June  in  the  study  location  were  ants,  another  27%  were  spiders,  and  flies  were 
only  2%.  This  is  an  information  packed  study  and  must  be  read  in  its  entirety 
by  serious  students.  (Reprints  available  from  author  for  $0.50  in  U.S.  Address: 
S.  E.  WILLIAMS,  Dept,  of  Biology,  Lebanon  Valley  College,  Annville,  PA  17003) 

Paul,  S.R.,  New  plant  records  for  Bihar  from  Netarhat  Plateau.  I.  Botanique  (Nagpur) 
7(1) : 29-32  1976. 

This  paper  reports  among  other  plants  that  Drosera  pelta'ta  is  a  new  species  in 
Bihar  State  in  India. 

Schnell,  D.E.  1977.  Infraspecific  variation  in  Sarracenia  rubra  Walt.:  Some  obser¬ 
vations.  Castanea  42:149-170. 

Five  infraspecific  disjunct  variants  of  the  species  are  described,  discussed  and 
illustrated.  The  author  feels  there  is  insufficient  discontinuity  of  characters 
to  declare  any  of  these  separate  species,  and  detailed  reasoning  and  comparisons 
are  offered.  It  is  recommended  that  the  combination  S.  rubra  ssp.  jonesii  be 
retained  and  that  it  not  be  re-elevated  to  species  level  as  recently  proposed  by 
another  author.  Two  recently  described  "species"  from  this  group  are  reduced  to 
subspecies:  S.  rubra  ssp.  alabamensis  and  S.  rubra  ssp.  wherryi.  (Reprints: 

D.E.  Schnell,  Rt.  4,  Box  275B,  Statesville,  NC  28677) 


60 


CPN 


Vol .  VI,  No.  3 


When  submitting  Want  Ads,  please  be  sure  to 
print  clearly  for  best  results  and  to  elim¬ 
inate  mistakes.  Please  indicate  the  correct 
letter  before  each  item  (Want,  Trade,  Sell  or 
Buy) .  Want  ads  are  limited  to  carnivorous 
plants,  terrariums,  greenhouses  and  moss. 

There  is  a  charge  of  ten  cents  per  item,  with 
no  limit  to  the  number  of  items  you  may  submit 
per  issue. 

Send  coin  or  check  along  with  your  want  ad  to: 

Arboretum,  Want  Ads 
California  State  University 
Fullerton,  CA  92634 


Jan  Anthony,  10  Walnut  St.,  Narragansett ,  RI  02882.  (WB)  Cephalotus  follicularis,  Drosera  sahizandra, 

D.  peltata,  Sarraaenia  leuaophylla ,  Pinguiaula  planifolia ,  P.  primuliflora,  Heliamphora 
Andrew  Arvai ,  4  Indian  Trail  Ct. ,  Novato,  CA  94947.  (WB)  Nepenthes  raffle siania,  N.  sanguinea , 

N.  Hookeriana,  N.  Kampotiana ,  Cephalotus  follicularis 
Bryce  R.  Augustine,  768G.  Cypress  Wk.  Goleta,  CA  93017.  (WB)  Pinguiaula  oaudata ,  P.  primuliflora, 

P.  grandi flora,  Sarraaenia  oreophila,  S.  psittaaina,  Drosera  adelae 
Mark  Bankey,  309  Orchard,  San  Marcos,  Texas  78666.  (WB)  Byblis  gigantea,  Drosera  regia 
Jay  Brodie,  10  Brookside  Dr.,  Apt.  3H,  Greenwich,  CT  06830.  (WTB)  Drosophyllum  seed,  Byblis  gigantea 
seed,  Sarraaenia  oreophila  seted,  S.  hybrids  (seed  or  rhizome  cuttings),  aquatic  Utrioularia  (not 
U.  vulgaris) ,  Drosera  montana  plants,  D.  filiformis  v.  traayi  plants 
Rick  Chapman,  Box  22,  Versailles,  N.Y.  14168.  (WTB)  Heliamphora,  Dionaea  musaipula  (very  large  15-20 
years),  Drosera  sahizandra,  D.  capensis  (seeds),  live  or  milled  moss.  (WTS)  2  young  Pinguiculas 
(var.  uncertain) 

Harvey  Dickler,  CLU,  33  Cloverfield  Road,  Valley  Stream,  NY  11581.  (B)  flava  x  rubra,  flava  x 

psittaaina,  minor  x  rubra,  alata  x  psittaaina,  flava  (heavily  veined) 

Paul  Duval,  25138  Andreo,  Lomita,  CA  90717.  (WB)  Nepenthes  x  nobilis,  N.  nigro -purpurea,  N.  trunaata, 

N.  veitahii,  N.  x  mastersiana,  N.  villosa,  N.  ampullaria,  N.  x  hookeriana,  N.  x  excelsa  (don’t 
confuse  with  excelsior  or  exaellens) ,  Cephalotus 

Ken  Griffo,  33  Sherbrooke  Dr.,  Florham  Park,  NJ  07932.  (WB)  any  Cephalotus,  any  Nepenthes,  Heliam¬ 
phora,  Drosophyllum,  Byblis 

James  D.  Hummer,  134  Lido  Way,  Upland,  CA  91786.  (WB)  Dionaea  musaipula.  Nepenthes ,  Sarraaenia, 

Drosera  petiolaris 

Michael  Hunt,  RFD  25,  Box  11714,  Oakton,  VA  22124.  (S)  Cephalotus  follicularis,  N.  alata. 

(B)  5.  purpurea  forma  heterophylla  (TB)  S.  flava  x  S.  minor 
Jim  Korolas,  36  Eastlea  Cres.,  Agincourt,  Ont.,  MIT  3A6,  Canada.  (TS)  S.  purpurea  var.  ripliaola 

(WTB)  S.  flava  (no  red),  S.  oreophila,  S.  oreophila  hybrids,  any  Nepenthes  (WT)  S.  flava  (red 
top) ,  S.  flava  (red  throat) 

Scott  Plamondon,  18018A  S.E.  Blanton,  Milwaukie,  Oregon  97222.  (WTB)  Heliamphora,  D.  sahizandra, 

D.  petiolaris,  Byblis  gigantea,  Drosophyllum  lusitaniaum,  any  Nepenthes ,  Aldrovanda 
(TS)  Darlingtonia 

The  Plant  Shop's  Botanical  Gardens,  18007  Topham  Street,  Reseda,  CA  91336.  Want  to  buy  rare 
carnivores . 

Alan  Schueler,  16345  Martincoit,  Poway,  CA  92064.  (WB)  any  Nepenthes  seed,  plant,  or  stem  cutting, 

Cephalotus  follicularis,  Drosera  peltata 

Peter  A.  Taverna,  c/o  P.O.  Upper  Sturt,  S.A.  5156,  Australia.  (W)  D.  anglica,  D.  linearis,  D. 
longi folia,  Genlisea  seed  (T)  D.  pygmaea,  D.  glanduligera,  D.  whittakeri,  D.  planchonii, 

D.  peltata,  D.  auriaulata 

Philip  Thomas,  Rt.  4,  144  Monticello  Road,  Weaverville,  NC  28787.  (TS)  Drosera  binata,  D.  burmanni 
(Taiwan)  seed,  D.  capensis  (narrow  leaf)  seed,  D.  aapillaris  seed,  D.  filiformis  traayi  seed, 

D.  x  nagamoto,  D.  filiformis  filiformis  seed,  D.  intermedia  seed,  D.  spathulata,  D.  spathulata 
(Japan,  spathulate  form),  D.  filiformis  traayi,  Dionaea  (seedlings),  Sarraaenia  flava  seed, 

S.  flava,  S.  minor  seed,  S.  rubra  jonesii  seed,  Utriaularia  subulata,  Pinguiaula  pumila  seed. 

(wtb)  Any  Nepenthes  (seed  esp.),  N.  gracilis,  S.  rubra  jonesii  (yellow  flower),  P.  primuflora, 

D.  peltata,  Roridula  ssp. 

SPECIAL  ANNOUNCEMENTS 

Due  to  the  low  number  of  orders  for  copies  of  the  1977  Plant  List,  and  the  desire  to 
provide  more  up-to-date  information,  Lynn  Macey,  Carnivorous  Plant  Information  Service, 
511  N.  Eby ,  McPherson,  KS  67460  (USA) ,  has  agreed  to  store  the  information  for  retrieval 
on  demand.  A  computer  copy  of  the  Plant  List  is  available  from  him  for  $1.00  postpaid. 
Bob  Ziemer  has  also  requested  that  due  to  this  new  service,  all  updates  of  plant 
inventories  be  sent  directly  to  Lynn.  People  who  have  ordered  the  Plant  List  from  The 
Arboretum  will  receive  their  copies  from  Lynn.  Payment  will  be  forwarded  to  him  from 
The  Arboretum. 

We  apologize  for  failing  to  mention  in  the  March  issue  that  Sundew  Environments  is  also 
a  source  for  the  books  by  Lloyd,  Darwin  and  Schnell. 


CARNIVOROUS 
PLANT 

NEWSLETTER 


VOLUME  VI,  No.  4 
December,  1977 


Pinguicula  plani folia  Butterwort 

Photo  by  Steven  A.  Frowine 
The  Garden  Center  of  Greater  Cleveland 


62 


CPN 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


EDITOR'S  CORNER 

First,  let  us  start  by  wishing  everyone  a  happy  holiday  season  and  a  most  success¬ 
ful  New  Year.  We  will  be  starting  the  New  Year  with  the  new  6X9  inch  color 
cover  booklet  format.  Only  about  25%  of  the  total  ballots  sent  out  were  returned, 
and  of  these  the  change  to  the  new  format  (versus  retaining  the  original  8-1/2  X  11 
inch  format)  passed  by  about  three  to  one.  With  regards  to  the  dues  structure,  the 
vote  on  the  $7/$9  and  $7  worldwide  was  so  close  that  we  have  decided  to  adopt  the 
$7  worldwide  price.  Therefore,  the  1978  dues  will  be  $7  anywhere.  The  same  policy 
of  accepting  all  comers  will  still  be  in  effect,  but  please  try  to  send  in  all  re¬ 
newals  before  March,  1978.  Subscriptions  will  continue  to  be  on  a  calendar  year 
basis.  For  those  subscribers  who  have  joined  us  recently,  please  do  not  be  taken 
aback  that  it  is  already  time  to  subscribe  to  Volume  VII.  The  rates  for  the  back 
volumes  have  also  been  revised.  See  enclosed  leaflet.  Please  feel  free  to  dupli¬ 
cate  and  distribute  it  to  spread  the  good  word. 

We  hope  to  be  able  to  hold  the  line  on  dues  and,  if  so,  we  will  be  in  a  position 
to  accept  multiple  year  subscriptions.  More  on  this  later  next  year. 


SPECIAL  ANNOUNCEMENTS 

NEPENTHE E  CUTTINGS.  Once  again  Joe  Mazrimas  and  Don  Schnell  will  have  some  spare 
Nepenthes  cuttings  to  send  to  CPN  subscribers  in  the  spring  of  1978  (April) .  We 
are  now  accepting  requests;  'in  your  letter  of  request,  please  include  the  follow¬ 
ing  information: 

1.  Your  current  growing  conditions  and  dimensions  of  the  Nepenthes  area. 

2.  A  current  listing  of  Nepenthes  species  you  are  growing. 

3.  A  list  of  desired  species,  but  final  selection  will  depend  on  available 
material . 

Send  all  requests  to  Joe  Mazrimas  (who  will  collate  all  requests)  before  March  15, 
1978.  We  regret  that  this  offer  is  only  available  to  U.S.,  Great  Britain  and 
continental  Europe  because  of  strict  import  and  inspection  certificate  restric¬ 
tions  elsewhere.  This  offer  is  an  attempt  to  effectively  and  rapidly  spread 
Nepenthes  plants  among  new  growers  of  this  genus  for  a  cost  of  twice  the  postage 
on  the  package  to  be  paid  promptly  upon  receipt  of  the  package. 

For  this  year  we  are  also  offering,  on  a  limited  basis,  one  other  rare  plant. 
Seedlings  of  the  rare  Sarracenia  rubra  ssp.  jonesii  (grown  from  seed  of  cultivated 
plants)  will  be  given  away  to  those  CPN  subscribers  who  wish  to  grow  them.  All  of 
the  above  plants  will  be  sent  off  in  the  spring  of  1978. 


JOE  MAZRIMAS  (329  Helen  Way,  Livermore,  CA  94550)  still  has  plenty  of  copies  of 
the  book  Nepenthes  of  Mt .  Kinabalu  by  Kurata  left  for  $5.00  postpaid.  It  would 
make  an  idea  gift  for  a  friend  who  is  interested  in  these  unusual  but  beautiful 
plants.  It  has  an  English  text  with  many  fine  color  photos. 


LOST  OR  DAMAGED- IN -THE -MAIL  ISSUES  OF  CPN?  We  regret  any  inconvenience  resulting 
from  our  mailing  difficulties  this  year  and  will  gladly  replace  any  issue  lost 
or  severely  damaged  in  the  mail.  Please  address  requests  to  Pat  Hansen,  CPN, 

The  Arboretum,  Dept,  of  Biology,  California  State  Univ.,  Fullerton,  CA  92634. 

BOB  HANRAHAN  ( Rt .  1,  Box  338-T,  Arroyo  Grande,  CA  93420)  is  an  amateur  radio 
operator  (call  letters  WB6GWY) .  He  would  like  telephone  numbers  of  subscribers 
in  the  Far  East,  Australia  and  New  Zealand.  Perhaps  he  will  be  calling  you  via 
short  wave  and  phone  patch. 


CO-EDITORS : 


D.E.  Schnell 
Rt .  4 ,  Box  275B 
Statesville,  NC  28677 


J.A.  Mazrimas 
329  Helen  Way 
Livermore,  CA  94550 


T.L.  Mellichamp 
Dept,  of  Biology 
UNCC 

Charlotte,  NC  28223 


Leo  Song 
The  Arboretum 
Dept,  of  Biology 
California  State  Univ. 

Fullerton , 
Circulation:  842 

worldwide.  Reprints 


PUBLISHER:  The  Arboretum,  Dept. 

CA  92634.  Published 
(527  new,  315  renewal) . 
of  Volumes  I-VI  available 


of  Biology,  California 
quarterly  with  one  volume 
Subscriptions:  $7.00 
at  $5 . 00/volume. 


State  University 
annually . 
annually 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


CPN 


63 


NEWS  &  VIEWS 

RICHARD  ADAMS  (L.H.  Bailey  Hortorium,  Cornell  University,  467  Mann  Library, 

Ithaca,  NY  14853)  and  OWEN  TALLMAN  (Box  111,  Denver,  NY  12421)  wish  to  announce 
they  have  started  preparation  of  a  comprehensive  horticultural  treatise  covering 
Drosera,  Dionaea,  Aldrovanda,  Byblis,  and  perhaps  Roridula.  They  solicit  any  in¬ 
formation  concerning  cultural  tips  or  idiosyncracies  that  readers  may  wish  to 
contribute  based  on  their  own  experience.  Such  outside  information  and  input  is 
widely  sought  in  scientific  writing,  and  Rich  and  Owen  feel  it  could  greatly  for¬ 
tify  the  popular  literature.  It  is  understood  that  such  ideas  and  information 
are  contributed  without  compensation  or  any  restriction  on  use  or  disclosure,  but 
contributors'  ideas  that  are  used  will  be  acknowledged  if  possible.  Information 
concerning  the  availability  of  high  quality  color  slides  or  black  and  white  glossy 
prints  for  publication  is  also  solicited.  (Please  write  before  sending  photos.) 

JAY  BRODIE  (54  Butler  St.,  Cos  Cob,  CT  06807)  sends  us  a  newspaper  clipping 
from  the  New  York  Times,  Oct.  6,  1977,  page  B1  titled  "The  Countless  Mysteries  of 
Peatland"  by  Jane  E.  Brody.  The  article  describes  the  ecological  research  taking 
place  in  the  BIG  BOG  by  Dr.  Gorham  and  his  students  in  the  state  of  Minnesota.  In 
this  sphagnum  bog,  there  are  Sarraoenia  purpurea  and  Drosera  rotundi folia  plants. 
Some  species  of  Utrioularia  were  also  observed  in  flower  among  the  mosses,  irises 
and  ferns.  In  previous  studies,  it  was  shown  that  this  bog  existed  for  over  4,000 
years  since  the  bottom  layers  85  inches  beneath  the  surface  showed  evidence  of 
peat  accumulation. 

JOE  P.  CANTASANO  (2717  Jerusalem  Ave. ,  North  Bellmore,  NY  11710)  writes:  I  spoke 
to  some  CP  growers  and  most  of  them  did  lose  some  CP  due  to  the  heat,  but  I  have 
not  lost  one.  I  mist  my  plants  twice  daily,  and  I  have  gone  as  far  as  to  dig  the 
middle  section  out  of  my  greenhouse.  I  removed  the  soil  a  few  inches  in  depth 
from  the  greenhouse  and  lined  the  trench  with  plastic,  then  filled  it  with  sand 
and  water  to  create  a  small  bog.  The  sun  beats  down  on  this  and  evaporates  the 
water,  resulting  in  a  very  moist  atmosphere  inside.  The  humidity  is  close  to  100% 
day  and  night,  and  although  this  bog  is  a  watery  mess,  my  plants  never  looked  so 
good . 

The  San  Francisco  County  Fair  Flower  Show  which  took  place  on  August  26-28  featured 
among  the  roses,  fuschias,  begonias  and  many  other  plant  genera,  carnivorous  plants 
as  a  separate  division.  Some  30  plants  representing  seven  genera  were  spotlighted 
in  an  interesting  display  planned  by  Anthony  Rae  and  Raul  Hernandez.  Seven  parti¬ 
cipants  donated  their  plants  to  make  this  display  a  real  showstopper.  Prizes  and 
ribbons  were  awarded  to  the  first,  second  and  third  place  winners.  Among  the  par¬ 
ticipants  were  Harold  Charns,  Byron  Aarstad,  Antonio  Brito,  Raymond  Triplett,  Larry 
Logotetta,  Joe  Mazrimas  and  Anthony  Rae.  The  organizers  hope  to  make  next  year's 
show  of  CP  even  bigger  and  better.  So  start  growing  those  showplace  plants  now) 

BILL  HANNA  (32  Allen  St.,  New  Lambton,  Newcastle,  NSW,  Australia  2305)  sends  us 
an  article:  The  Overlander  magazine  Aug/Sept,  1977  describes  on  page  63  a  trip 
taken  by  some  adventurers  into  the  Queensland  area  of  Australia.  They  found 
Nepenthes  mirabilis ,  Drosera  and  some  Utrioularia  in  the  rugged  areas  they  were 
exploring . 

BOB  HANRAHAN  (Rt.  1,  Box  338-T,  Arroyo  Grande,  CA  93420)  writes:  I  experienced 
a  severe  problem  this  year  with  my  Dionaea  in  that  the  plants  grew  normally  until 
mid-June  and  then  began  to  defoliate  and  rot  away.  I  grow  my  Dionaea  fairly  dry 
in  a  2  to  1  mix  of  #4  vermiculite  and  Candian  peat  moss  to  prevent  rot  which  can 
easily  overcome  this  species.  I  began  weekly  applications  of  benomyl  50  WP  at 
1/2  strength  as  a  precautionary  measure  against  fungus.  In  late  July,  a  plant 
tissue  specialist,  Mr.  Martin  J.  Crehan,  stopped  by  to  chat  and  view  the  collec¬ 
tion.  I  had  him  examine  the  infected  Dionaea  to  get  his  expert  opinion.  He  was 
just  beginning  to  work  on  meristeming  Dionaea  and  was  unfamiliar  with  this  problem. 
A  few  days  later,  I  received  from  Mr.  Crehan  a  copy  of  the  Plant  Disease  Reporter 
for  May,  1972.  It  was  titled  "Foliar  blight  of  Dionaea  musoipula  incited  by 
Collet otriehum  gloeosporioides .  "  This  paper  described  a  study  of  a  fungus  and  its 
control . 

The  disease  begins  as  a  small,  water-soaked  elliptical  spot  that  soon  becomes 
light  grey  with  a  black  center.  These  lesions  turn  black  and  join  together  to 
cover  the  leaves  of  the  plant.  Defoliations  follows  with  a  general  decrease  in 
the  size  of  the  rhizome.  Photos  of  the  diseased  plants  included  in  the  article 
duplicated  the  spots  on  my  plants  perfectly.  Effective  control  of  Collectotrichum 
gloeosporioides  can  be  attained  with  benomyl  50  WP  (3/4  lb/100  gal,  or  1-1/2  tbsp/ 

2  gal.),  chlorothalonil  75  WP  (1-1/2  lb/100  gal)  or  zinc  plus  maneb  80  WP  (1-1/2 
lb/100  gal.)  weekly  until  eradicated  (2-4  applications). 


64 


CPN 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


There  was  no  plant  damage  (phytotoxicity)  evident  from  the  application  of  any  of 
the  fungicides.  It  was  noted  in  this  article  that  leaves  of  Dionaea  should  be 
kept  dry  to  assist  in  erradicating  the  fungus.  After  following  the  prescribed 
prescription  with  benomyl ,  the  mysterious  defoliation  problem  with  Dionaea  has 
disappeared  as  well  as  my  nightmare. 

(Ed.  note:  Growers  who  use  tightly  sealed  terraria  or  similar  setups  to  grow 
Dionaea  and  are  constantly  losing  these  plants  should  note  the  above  problems 
and  solution.  J.M.,  ed . ) 

Ref.:  Plant  Disease  Reporter,  Vol.  56,  No.  5.  May  1972,  pp.  391-3. 

SCOTT  HENDERSON  (215  N.  Cuyamara  St.,  El  Cajon,  CA  92020)  writes:  Recently  I 
visited  the  CP  display  at  Sea  World.  Chuck  Kline  has  made  some  nice  improvements 
since  I  first  saw  the  display  a  year  ago.  A  whole  set  of  graphics  that  explain 
many  of  the  abilities  of  CPs  is  mounted  in  wood  over  two  large  terraria.  Right 
now  he  is  using  wide  spectrum  fluorescent  lights,  but  he  mentioned  that  the  plants 
still  need  a  little  more  light.  Nevertheless,  his  Nepenthes  hybrid  had  a  number 
of  large  colorful  pitchers,  and  the  rest  of  the  plants  were  doing  quite  well.  The 
display  contains  a  sampling  of  the  following  genera:  Drosera,  Dionaea,  Sarraoenia, 
Pinguicula,  Utrioularia  (terrestrial),  and  Nepenthes. 

LYNN  MACEY  (511  N.  Eby,  McPherson,  KS  67460)  is  offering  a  five  year  complete 
index  for  CPN.  This  index  includes  an  author  index,  a  subject  index  and  plant 
species  index  for  Volumes  I  through  V,  and  it's  available  from  him  for  the  price 
of  $1.00.  Lynn  will  send  a  fpee  copy  of  the  index  to  anyone  who  supplies  him  with 
journal  articles  on  CP  that  they  have  recently  published  or  copies  of  articles  that 
he  doesn't  have.  Lynn  has  a  list  of  1,107  CP  references  on  which  he  would  like 
more  information  or,  better  yet,  a  copy  of  the  article. 

JOE  MAZRIMAS  (329  Helen  Way,  Livermore,  CA  94550)  reports  that  the  recent  edition 
of  Hortus  Third  reviewed  here  in  CPN  under  the  Literature  Review  section 
(CPN  VI (3): 59)  has  some  interesting  information  regarding  the  names  of  certain 
hybrids  commonly  used  by  many  CP  people.  According  to  Hortus  Third,  the  following 
names  DO  NOT  have  any  botanical  standing:  Nepenthes  x  hoissiense,  N.  x  goettin- 
gensis,  Drosera  x  oapulata  (  a  reputed  hybrid  between  D.  oapensis  and  D.  spathu- 
lata) ,  D.  elliptioa.  D.  longifolia  is  a  confused  name  applied  to  both  D .  anglioa 
and  D.  intermedia .  Those  who  are  exchanging  plants  under  the  above  names  should 
be  aware  of  the  shaky  status  of  these  names. 

Report  on  drought  conditions  in  California:  I  have  visited  several  bogs  in  the 
Sierras  and  it  seems  that  the  two  year  drought  is  taking  its  toll  on  many  carni¬ 
vorous  plants.  In  one  place,  where  there  was  once  a  fairly  large  pond  about  100 
meters  across,  I  now  saw  only  a  small  puddle  of  about  three  meters  in  diameter 
which  was  rapidly  evaporating  in  the  hot  summer  sun.  This  pond  once  had  thousands 
of  Utrioularia  vulgaris  plants  and  other  Utrioularia .  Darlingtonia  bogs  seemed  to 
be  intact,  although  I  noticed  several  dead  plants  around  the  edges.  The  companion 
plants  of  Drosera  rotundi folia  seemed  to  be  surviving  the  worst  drought  in  a  cen¬ 
tury,  perhaps  due  to  mountain  spring  waters  which  flow  quite  briskly  from  aquifers 
of  unknown  size  or  capacity.  How  many  more  years  of  subnormal  rainfall  these  bogs 
can  survive  is  not  known  at  this  time,  but  it's  clear  now  that  CP  sites  which  de¬ 
pend  on  rainfall  to  supply  moisture  are  in  jeopardy,  while  those  that  depend  on 
spring  water  from  underground  sources  are  still  in  good  shape. 

Our  only  hope  for  the  rainfall-dependent  bogs  is  that  the  seed  from  previous  years 
will  sprout  upon  the  return  of  the  rains,  which  should  be  torrential. 

PETER  McLAUGHLIN  (Dana  Lane,  Colts  Neck,  NJ  07722)  writes  that  last  summer  he  had 
a  chance  to  visit  the  New  Jersey  Pine  Barrens  twice.  Observations  were  made  on 
Drosera  intermedia,  D.  filiformis  v.  filiformis,  D.  rotundi folia,  Sarraoenia  pur¬ 
purea  ssp.  venosa  and  Utrioularia  intermedia.  On  both  of  these  trips,  each  to  a 
different  location,  similar  observations  were  made.  He  noted  that  D.  rotundi folia 
grew  mainly  on  or  near  cedar  root  balls  in  the  shade,  while  D.  intermedia  grew 
near  the  water's  edge  in  very  wet  conditions  in  full  sun.  S.  purpurea  grew  farther 
up  the  bank  in  semi-wet  conditions.  Being  familiar  with  the  root  system  of  S.  pur¬ 
purea,  he  said  that  the  roots  probably  reached  the  water  table. 

D.  filiformis  was  noticed  only  by  the  presence  of  its  small  purple  flowers  growing 
in  what  he  thought  was  quite  dry  conditions  and  was  not  associated  with  the  afore¬ 
mentioned  species.  U.  intermedia  grew  in  both  sunny  and  shady  waters.  The  sun 
plants  were  smaller,  and  they  had  more  bladders.  These  two  trips  have  given  him 
a  good  insight  in  the  cultivation  of  D.  intermedia ,  D.  filiformis ,  D.  rotundi folia, 
S.  purpurea  and  U.  intermedia. 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


CPN 


65 


LARRY  MELLICHAMP  (Dept,  of  Biology,  UNCC ,  Charlotte,  NC  28223)  sends  this  SPECIAL 
NOTE:  All  subscribers  to  CPN  will  soon  be  receiving  in  the  mail  a  colorful  bro¬ 

chure  announcing  the  availability  of  a  limited  number  of  high  quality  collector's 
prints.  The  prints  are  reproductions  of  an  original  painting  done  by  a  renowned 
wildlife  artist  in  North  Carolina,  Josette  Gourley.  The  painting  is  entitled 
"Carolina  Swamp"  and  depicts  the  native  carnivorous  plants  of  North  Carolina  (four 
species  of  Sarracenia,  Dros era,  Dionaea ,  Pinguieula ,  and  Utricularia  growing  in 
their  native  habitat  with  associated  plants.  Each  print  in  this  limited  edition 
is  numbered  and  signed  by  the  artist.  The  size  of  the  print  is  24  X  18-1/2  inches 
The  cost  is  $25  plus  postage.  Watch  your  mail  for  information  regarding  this 
beautiful  and  important  work  of  art  which  uniquely  captures  the  spirit  of  our 
beloved  CP. 

EDMUND  PALMER  (#70  Eagle  Point  Community,  Punta  Gorda,  FL  33950)  has  found  at 
least  one  answer  to  a  frequently  asked  question:  Where  can  one  buy  live  sphagnum 
in  the  US?  He  has  found  that  Mosser  Lee  Co.,  Millston,  WI  54643,  can  supply 
live  sphagnum  for  $2.95  per  bushel,  but  the  bushel  weighs  nearly  35  lbs.,  and  so 
UPS  shipping  costs  are  high  (about  $7.00  to  Florida,  for  example).  However,  the 
moss  was  of  good  quality  and  definitely  alive  upon  arrival.  Mosser  Lee  is  a 
dealer  in  gardening  material  and  can  supply  dried  long  fiber  sphagnum  quite  rea¬ 
sonably.  Catalog  is  free. 

PETER  PRAGER  (10923-1/4  Ayres  Ave.,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90064)  notes  the  following 
observations  in  his  cultivated  Drosera  this  summer:  On  the  stem,  just  below  the 
flowers  of  D.  spathulata  (unknown  variety)  grew  several  leaves.  Though  they  were 
only  half  the  size  of  normal  basal  leaves,  they  appeared  typical  in  all  other 
aspects.  On  a  leaf  of  D.  binata  dichotoma,  at  each  of  the  four  leaf  tips,  the 
ends  had  curled  inward  and  a  plant  grew! 

TOM  PUMMER  (11  Gray  Circle,  Lynn,  MA  01902)  writes:  While  many  of  the  notes 
sent  to  CPN  deal  with  observations  of  plants  in  the  field,  I  would  like  to  com¬ 
ment  on  some  carnivorous  plant  models  I  happened  to  see  recently.  The  Botanical 
Museum  at  Harvard  University  includes  among  its  public  exhibits  the  Blaschka  Glass 
Models  of  Plants.  This  collection  is  one  of  the  most  amazing  achievements  I  have 
ever  seen  because  the  models  are  so  accurately  executed  that  it  becomes  difficult 
to  tell  that  they  are  not  real  plants)  The  collection  includes  Nepenthes  maxima, 

N.  sanguinea ,  Drosera  filiformis,  D.  rotundi folia ,  Sarraoenia  flava,  S.  purpurea, 
Pinguieula  vulgaris ,  Dionaea  muscipula,  and  Darlingtonia  calif orniea .  The 
Nepenthes  models  were  done  from  live  specimens  obtained  from  Veitch's  Nurseries, 
London,  in  1906. 

KIM  SIKORYAK  (2101  Cheyenne  St.,  Golden,  CO  80401)  writes:  A  note  on 
Burbidge ' s  hypothesis  concerning  the  teeth  of  N.  bicalcarata :  Granted  their 
function  needs  more  study  ,  but  we  may  as  well  at  least  get  the  identification 
cleared  up  a  little.  I  have  seen  the  critter  supposedly  snared  by  the  above 
plant  variously  described  as  a  rodent,  an  insectivore,  and  a  lemur.  Tarsius 
spectrum ,  the  little  fellow  in  question,  is  none  of  the  above  but  a  member  of  the 
family  Tarsiidae.  Tarsiers  are  primates,  as  are  men.  In  fact,  they  are  thought 
by  some  to  be  the  most  ancient  group  in  the  order.  Nocturnal,  arboreal,  carni¬ 
vorous;  these  are  creatures  of  scrub  or  second  growth  jungle.  Adults  are  85-160mm 

in  length  with  135-270mm  tails  and  weigh  between  80-150  grams.  They  can  be  tamed, 
so  for  those  looking  for  the  right  touch  for  their  Bornean  greenhouse....  As  for 
their  vulnerability  to  N.  bicalcarata,  only  the  tarsier  knows  for  sure. 

JOHN  TURNBULL  (Dept,  of  Botany  and  Genetics,  University  of  Guelph,  Guelph,  Ontario 
CANADA  NIG  2W1)  writes:  While  you  and  the  other  co-editors  are  rethinking  the 
format  of  CPN,  I  would  like  to  suggest  that  the  address  of  the  author  of  short 

notes  and  News  &  Views  letters  be  published  under  the  title.  Readers  could  then 

write  to  the  author  to  enquire.  As  you  know,  this  is  the  normal  policy  of  most 
journals . 

(We  have  decided  to  do  just  that  beginning  in  this  issue.  Ed.) 

BOB  ZIEMER  (P.O.  Box  4562,  Areata,  CA  95521)  mentions  a  book  translated  from 
Russian  called  Interrelation  of  Forest  and  Bog,  N.  I.  P'yavchenko,  ed.  and  pub¬ 
lished  by  Amerind  Pub.  Co.,  Pvt.  Ltd.,  New  Delhi,  1976.  It  contains  a  series  of 
chapters  on  plants  and  bogs  found  in  Western  Siberia. 


66 


CPN 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


SHORT  NOTES 

GENERAL  CULTURAL  INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  GROWING  TUBEROUS  DROSERAS 

by  Steve  Rose 

(125  Edward  St.,  Bedford  Park,  West  Australia  6052) 

Although  the  tuberous  droseras  come  from  very  varied  conditions,  they  can  be 
nearly  all  grouped  together  for  common  cultivation  as  long  as  correct  procedures 
for  dormancy  and  pre-emergence  are  followed. 

There  are  two  main  groups  of  tuberous  droseras: 

1.  Well-drained  type:  a)  Sand  forms  or  drained  heavier  soils. 

b)  Drained  laterite  soil. 

2.  The  not-so-well-drained  type:  a)  Swamp  (wet). 

b)  Swamp  (drying) . 

Emergence,  I  believe,  is  controlled  mainly  by  temperature  although  water  must 
be  adequate  or  emergence  may  be  retarded. 

Dormancy  can  be  triggered  by  several  factors;  maturity  through  flowering,  tempera¬ 
ture  or  water  restriction.  The  two  latter  reasons  are  not  usually  the  dominant 
ones  because  tuber  formation  takes  place  as  soon  as  flowering  in  most  plants 
begins.  By  the  time  flowering  has  ended,  tuber  formation  is  either  finished  or 
partly  completed.  The  dormancy  after  flowering  can  be  retarded  by  cool  damp 
conditions,  even  to  the  extent  of  producing  secondary  growth.  The  tuber  does  not 
increase  in  size  but  can  even  lead  away  to  rotting  by  not  drying  out  enough  with 
rise  in  temperature. 

I  regard  the  actual  drying  out  of  the  plant  as  the  MOST  IMPORTANT  ASPECT  IN  THE 
WHOLE  CULTURE  OF  TUBEROUS  DROSERAS.  The  drying  out  process  must  be  slow  and  never 
wet,  the  period  being  at  least  one  month  to  total  dryness  from  moist  conditions. 

The  pots  containing  unexposed  tubers  can  then  be  even  exposed  to  very  high  tempera¬ 
tures  up  to  140°F.  But  this  is  not  at  all  necessary.  The  pots  can  be  stored  in  a 
sheltered  shed  away  from  wind,  sun  and  rain  until  autumn.  As  soon  as  the  plant 
shows  signs  of  die  back  after  maturity  or  flowering,  it  MUST  be  allowed  to  DRY  off 
or  else  the  tuber  will  be  lost. 

All  tuberous  droseras  develop  fibrous  root  systems.  The  extent  and  concentration 
varies  from  species  to  species  and  most  of  all  on  the  particular  soil.  Most  roots 
grow  close  to  and  extend  below  the  tubers  (Fig.  1) . 

So,  keeping  this  fact  in  mind,  potting  a  tuberous 
drosera  would  mean  using  a  deep  pot  and  a  good, 
well-drained  soil  mix.  For  the  latter,  I  use  two 
main  components,  sand  and  peat  moss.  The  ratio  of 
the  mixture  varies  with  the  species  but  common 
sense  tells  one  that  more  sand  is  needed  for  well- 
drained  species  and  more  peat  for  the  swampy  types. 

For  well-drained  species  use  two  parts  sand  to  one 
part  peat  in  a  6-8"  pot.  For  the  swamp  species  use 
one  part  sand  and  two  parts  peat  in  a  5-6"  pot.  The 
medium  should  always  be  loose. 

Watering  should  also  be  practised  using  common  sense. 

Never  overly  wet  even  for  the  swamp  species.  It's 
better  to  give  them  semi-shade  and  cool  and  humid 

conditions  than  too  much  sun  and  water.  Fig.  1 

Fertilization  IS  GOOD  FOR  TUBEROUS  DROSERAS.  But  please,  use  common  sense  on 
this.  Foliar  feeding  is  effective  in  increasing  tuber  size  toward  the  end  of 
the  season  but  not  so  for  increasing  leaf  size  in  rosetted  ones.  Erect  and 
climbing  droseras  nearly  always  produce  mature  size  leaves  regardless  of  height. 
Fertilization  will  increase  vigor  and  tuber  size  for  next  year.  Feeding  should 
not  be  heavy  at  any  time  or  else  the  roots  will  burn.  About  one-fourth  strength 
once  every  two  weeks  is  all  right. 

(Received  for  publication  May  6,  1977) 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


CPN 


67 


UNSEASONAL  BLOOMING  IN  SARRACENIA  IN  WESTERN  FLORIDA 
by  Landon  T.  Ross 

(1012  Ridge  Road,  Tallahassee,  FL  32304) 

The  phenomenon  of  unseasonal  blooming  in  Sarraeenia  is  briefly  noted  by  McDaniel 
(1971),  but  otherwise  seems  to  have  gone  unmentioned  by  most  students  of  the 
genus.  It  is  not  uncommon  in  cultivated  specimens  which  are  often  subject  to 
rapid  environmental  changes  and  the  concomitant  physiological  shock,  although 
examples  among  wild  populations  seem  to  be  a  good  deal  less  frequent. 

During  the  interval  between  the  spring  blooming  seasons  of  1975  and  1977,  about 
fifteen  field  trips  were  made  through  western  Florida.  One  goal  was  to  record 
unseasonal  blooming.  Five  separate  instances  were  observed,  and  these  are  listed 
in  the  accompanying  table.  All  plants  were  large,  mature  specimens,  and  there 
was  no  evidence  of  any  particular  damage  or  recent  habitat  modification  which 
might  have  been  expected  to  have  triggered  flowering.  It  seems  notable  that  only 
single  flowers  were  produced  by  each  of  the  plants,  except  for  the  S.  purpurea 
venosa  which  had  two.  The  size  of  the  plants  was  such  that  considerably  more 
flowers  would  have  been  expected  under  normal  circumstances.  Also,  the  flowers 
which  were  produced  were  not  always  of  normal  dimensions.  Those  of  the  S.  pur¬ 
purea  venosa  were  about  25%  smaller  than  usual,  and  in  both  cases  the  S.  leuco- 
phylla  flowers  were  approximately  50%  of  the  typical  size  and  were  borne  on  abnor¬ 
mally  short  scapes. 

Expected  approximate  date 

Date  and  day  length  and  day  length  during  normal 

Species  when  observed  blooming  blooming  cycle _ 


Sarraeenia  leueophylla 

4  Sept.  1976 

10 

April 

12  hr.  40  min. 

12 

hr.  45 

min . 

S. 

leueophy lla 

17  Sept.  1976 

10 

April 

12  hr.  18  min. 

12 

hr.  4  5 

min . 

S. 

minor 

19  Oct.  1975 

30 

April 

11  hr.  21  min. 

13 

hr.  20 

min . 

S. 

purpurea  venosa 

1  Sept.  1975 

25 

March 

12  hr.  48  min. 

12 

hr.  15 

min . 

S. 

rubra  * 

18  Sept.  1975 

19 

April 

12  hr.  17  min. 

13 

hr.  0  : 

min . 

Observations  of  unseasonal  blooming  in  Sarraeenia 


To  facilitate  further  observations,  the  plants  of  Sarraeenia  minor,  S.  purpurea 
venosa,  and  S.  rubra  were  moved  to  an  artificial  bog.  These  plants  bloomed  nor¬ 
mally  during  the  spring  of  1976,  and  failed  to  produce  any  further  unseasonal 
blooms.  The  specimen  of  S.  minor  did,  however,  continue  to  bloom  through  6  June, 
1976,  considerably  later  than  is  usual  for  the  species. 

It  might  be  expected  that  unseasonal  blooming  bears  some  relationship  to  length 
of  day.  For  this  reason,  day  lengths  for  the  subject  area  for  the  observed  bloom¬ 
ing  dates  are  included  in  the  table.  Also  listed  are  approximate  dates  and  day 
lengths  for  the  midpoints  of  the  normal  blooming  periods  for  the  same  general  area 
These  are  somewhat  modified,  based  on  recent  observations  in  western  Florida,  from 
blooming  periods  given  by  Bell  (1952) .  The  data  in  the  table  lead  one  to  suspect 
that  this  relationship  does  actually  exist  to  some  degree,  particularly  since  no 
unseasonable  blooms  were  observed  during  periods  of  very  long  or  very  short  day 
length  (excepting  the  continuation  of  blooming  under  cultivation  of  the  S.  minor)  . 
Further  records  are  needed,  however,  for  any  type  of  accurate  analysis  to  be  made. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  that  unseasonal  blooms  were  not  observed  in  either 
Sarraeenia  psittaeina  or  S.  flava.  Since  populations  of  S.  psittaeina  are  not 
likely  to  be  particularly  dense,  and  since  the  plants  themselves  tend  to  be  con¬ 
cealed  by  other  vegetation,  particularly  during  the  later  part  of  the  year,  the 
lack  of  observations  for  that  species  is  not  surprising.  In  the  case  of  S.  flava, 
however,  more  individual  plants  were  probably  examined  than  in  all  other  species 
combined,  without  a  single  instance  of  unseasonal  blooming  being  noted. 

Literature  Cited 

Bell,  C.  R.  1952.  Natural  hybrids  in  the  genus  Sarraeenia.  I.  History,  distri¬ 
bution  and  taxonomy.  J.  Elisha  Mitchell  Sci.  Soc.  68:55-79. 

McDaniel,  S.  1971.  The  genus  Sarraeenia  ( Sarraaeniaeeae ) .  Bull.  Tall  Timbers 
Research  Station.  9:1-36 


*Shows  slight  signs  of  introgressive  influence  from  S.  leueophylla 
(Received  for  publication  Julv  11.  1977) 


68 


CPN 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


OF  BARN  SWALLOWS  AND  DROSERAS 
by  Owen  Tallman 

(P.O.  Box  11,  Denver,  NY  12421) 

In  early  May  this  year  I  returned  from  an  early  morning  errand  to  find  the  green¬ 
house  quite  warm  from  the  bright  sun.  I  went  in  to  see  how  everyone  was  doing  and 
found  that  a  barn  swallow  had  gotten  in  and  was  sitting  on  top  of  one  of  the  struc¬ 
tural  members. 

When  he  saw  me  he  took  off  towards  the  bright  end  of  the  greenhouse,  and  I  saw 
that  he  had  fallen  for  the  light-window  effect,  for  the  way  out  was  not  towards 
the  light  of  the  sun  but  back  through  the  dark  shed  on  the  north  side  of  the 
greenhouse  through  which  he  had  entered.  The  light  end  offered  no  escape;  only 
the  dark  shed  did.  The  shed  functions  as  a  kind  of  winter  airlock  and  general 
workspace . 

I  tried  a  few  times  to  chase  him  out  through  the  shed  but  he  persistently  swooped 
around  my  gesturing  arms  toward  the  light,  consistently  finding  no  way  out  there. 

I  thought  momentarily  of  the  similarity  between  this  situation  and  that  of  a  fly¬ 
ing  insect  inside  a  window,  or  inside  the  hood  of  a  Sarracenia  minor.  In  the 
house,  I  could  either  open  the  window  or  swat  the  bug.  Here,  as  inside  a  pitcher 
plant,  there  was  only  one  way  out.  It  did  not  help  me  to  try  to  imagine  what  I 
would  do  inside  a  pitcher  plant,  so  I  forgot  about  it  and  went  outside  where  I 
found  two  large  pieces  of  cardboard.  I  thought  with  these  I  could  make  it  clear 
to  the  bird  what  he  had  to  do  by  putting  a  barrier  up  wherever  he  tried  to  fly 
past  me  in  the  wrong  direction. 

Now  this  greenhouse  is  set  up  in  several  levels,  each  consisting  of  a  pair  of 
rows  of  plastic  flats  (or  trays)  about  12"  x  24",  suspended  on  wooden  frames  with 
a  walkway  in  between.  Chasing  this  poor  bird,  who  eyed  me  in  terror  and  puffed 
and  panted  in  the  heat,  I  was  standing  on  the  frame/bench  structure  about  three 
feet  off  the  ground,  waving  my  cardboard  shields  above  my  head  so  that  I  blocked 
the  walkway  with  my  body  and  the  passsage  above  my  head  with  the  cardboards. 

Faced  with  this  the  bird  plunged  headlong  into  a  flat  of  about  70  rather  large 
narrow-leaf  Drosera  oapensis  and  stopped. 

I  was  about  to  grab  him  when  I  realized  that  he  wasn't  going  anywhere.  He  had 
landed  all  right,  with  his  wings  spread,  but  that  was  what  did  it — the  combined 
sticking  power  or  this  army  of  sundews  had  got  him  wing,  foot  and  tail.  If  he 
thought  these  plants  would  provide  a  landing  platform  he  misjudged,  though  he  was 
acting  in  panic.  I  watched  him  struggling  for  a  few  moments  to  be  certain  that 
he  was  caught  then  picked  him  up,  slippery  and  tacky,  and  tossed  him  out  the  door. 

He  flew  straight  away. 

I  suppose  that  I  might  be  accused  of  missing  an  opportunity  to  document  the  animal¬ 
trapping  and  digesting  ability  of  these  large  South  African  sundews,  but  it  was  my 
fault  the  bird  got  stuck,  and  in  fact  the  whole  episode  arose  from  my  interference, 
since  in  all  the  years  the  swallows  had  lived  in  these  buildings  they'd  had  no 
reason  to  expect  to  end  up  in  a  greenhouse/trap  after  flying  into  a  dark  shed. 

I  don't  know  if  the  bird  could  have  escaped,  but  having  seen  similar  groups  of 
plants  in  inadvertent  cooperation  capture  and  literally  draw  and  quarter  very  large 
moths,  I  had  no  inclination  to  test  the  idea.  Besides,  I  couldn't  see  myself  ex¬ 
plaining  with  any  aplomb  the  feathery  remains  on  this  group  of  plants  to  visitors. 
People  have  enough  strange  ideas  about  CP  as  it  is. 

(Received  for  publication  July  11,  1977) 

CARNIVOROUS  PLANT  COMPANIES 

by  Glenn  Claudi-Magnussen 
(26861  Queredo  Lane,  Mission  Viejo,  CA  92675) 

There  are  many  CP  companies,  which  vary  greatly  in  quality,  price,  etc.  I  have 
received  plants  and  catalogs  from  some  of  these  companies,  and  here  are  my  reactions. 

World  Insectivorous  Plants  (Rt.  1,  Box  338S,  Arroyo  Grande,  CA  93420)  .  This  com¬ 
pany  is  one  of  the  best.  The  plants  are  all  greenhouse  grown,  which  lessens 
the  strain  on  the  plants  in  their  natural  environment.  All  the  plants  are 
very  healthy  and  are  rather  mature  (i.e.  no  seedlings).  Many  are  blooming 
or  ready  to.  They  are  also  very  prompt  in  sending  the  plants.  The  prices 
are  very  good,  much  better  than  for  most  plants  taken  from  the  wild.  They 
carry  Sarracenia  as  well  as  the  plants  mentioned  in  CPN  VI (1) :20.  Their 
selection  is  very  large. 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


CPN 


69 


Sun  Dew  (or  Sun  Dew  Environments)  (P.0.  Box  111,  Denver,  NY  12421)  .  This 
company  is  also  very  good,  and  they  do  grow  their  own  plants.  As  with 
WIP,  the  quality,  price  and  shipping  are  very  good.  The  only  disadvantage 
is  that  the  plants  are  often  younger  and  smaller,  but  don't  let  this  stop 
you  from  buying  from  them,  because  they  are  a  good  company.  About  four 
times  a  year  this  company  sends  updates,  increasing  the  number  of  avail¬ 
able  species.  They  are  now  limited  to  Drosera,  Byblis  and  Vtricularia, 
but  soon  hope  to  get  other  genera. 

Peter  Pauls  Nurseries  (Darcey  Road,  Canandaigua,  NY  14424)  .  This  company  offers 
a  wide  variety  of  plants.  They  are  also  the  only  company  I  know  that  sells 
CP  seeds.  The  plants  are  in  good  condition,  but  they  are  rather  expensive. 

Edelweiss  Gardens  (54  Robbinsville-Allentown  Road,  Robbinsville ,  NJ  08691) . 

This  company  carries  only  about  10  species,  all  of  which  are  expensive. 

Arthur  E.  Algrove  (North  Wilmington,  MA  01887)  .  Again  there  are  only  a  few 

species  sold  by  this  company.  They  do  not  carry  Darlingtonia  or  Drosera, 
as  CPN  VI (1) :20  says.  The  plants  they  do  have,  though,  are  very  inexpensive 

Harold  Welsh  (Black  Copper  Kits,  266  Kipp  St.,  Hackensack,  NJ  07601).  This 

company  has  some  of  the  American  CP,  especially  Sarracenia.  The  plants  are 
in  very  good  condition  and  are  rather  inexpensive. 

Carolina  Exotic  Gardens  (Box  1492,  Greenville,  NC  27834) .  This  company  sells  a 
wide  variety  of  plants.  Aside  from  the  genera  listed  in  this  year's  CPN, 
they  also  sell  Nepenthes  khasiana ,  many  Drosera,  some  Pinguicula ,  and  Utricu 
laria.  The  prices  range  from  very  expensive  to  very  cheap. 

Conclusion 

All  of  these  companies  have  advantages  (some  more  than  others).  When  looking 
for  a  plant,  I  suggest  going  to  World  Insectivorous  Plants  or  Sun  Dew.  All  of 
the  other  companies  sell  plants  taken  from  the  wild,  and  are  generally  not  as 
good.  There  are  enough  greenhouse  grown  plants  available  or  soon  to  be  available 
to  satisfy  most  CP  collectors. 

(Received  for  publication  August  10,  1977) 


BUILDING-  YOU R  OWN 


by  Scott  A.  Richardson 
(333  N.  Bender  Ave. ,  Covina,  CA  91724) 


When  I  moved  my  carnivorous  plants  out  of  the  sealed  aquaria  and  into  a  small 
greenhouse,  I  knew  there  would  be  both  advantages  and  disadvantages. 

On  the  bright  side,  I  could  give  them  more  sun  because  the  greenhouse  was  venti¬ 
lated;  they  would  also  be  able  to  catch  more  insects  by  themselves.  I  found, 
however,  the  major  disadvantage  was  thay  they  needed  much  more  water  than  before 
because  of  the  added  ventilation. 

Unfortunately,  the  water  here  in  Southern  California  is  very  hard  and  mineral¬ 
laden,  so  I  was  forced  to  buy  distilled  water  which  becomes  slightly  expensive 
at  lOt  a  half  gallon,  not  to  mention  the  inconvenience  of  constantly  getting  it. 
Distilling  my  own  water  seemed  to  be  the  answer,  but  the  question  was  how. 

One  possibility  was  to  boil  tap  water  on  the  stove  and  condense  it,  but,  being 
somewhat  energy  conscious,  I  knew  there  must  be  a  better  way.  That's  when  I 
decided  to  invent  a  solar  water  distiller  that  would  be  simple  to  build  and 
maintain. 

The  idea  I  hit  upon  utilized  the  old  aquaria  I  had  left  over.  I  remembered  how 
the  moisture  inside  the  aquaria  would  condense  on  the  sides  and  drip  down  when 
the  sun  hit  them.  That  is  the  basis  for  my  design. 

The  distiller  consists  of  a  10-gallon  aquarium  propped  up  about  10°  on  one  end. 
This  will  let  the  condensed  water  fall  down  to  the  lower  end  of  the  aquarium. 

A  black  8"  x  10"  photographic  developing  tray  full  of  tap  water  is  put  inside 
the  aquarium  and  leveled.  A  piece  of  glass  is  then  put  over  the  top  to  seal  the 
aquarium.  The  sealed  aquarium  is  then  positioned  so  that  it  will  receive  as  much 
direct  sun  as  possible. 


70 


CPN 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


The  principle  on  which  it  works  is  that  the  black  photo  tray  absorbs  the  sun's 
rays  and  converts  them  to  heat  thus  heating  the  water  to  between  135°  and  150°F. 
The  water  begins  evaporating  and,  eventually,  the  air  inside  the  sealed  aquarium 
becomes  saturated  with  water  vapor.  The  water  begins  to  condense  around  the  sides 
and  forms  droplets  which  fall  to  the  shaded  bottom  of  the  aquarium  under  the  photo 
tray.  This  is  distilled  water,  made  using  only  the  sun's  rays.  I  collect  this 
water  by  squeezing  it  up  with  a  baster  or  an  auto  battery  bulb  and  then  store  it 
in  jugs. 

By  using  this  method,  I  can  distill  between  10  and  16  oz.  of  water  per  aquarium 
each  day.  Presently,  I  have  three  solar  distillers  operating,  and  they  give  me 
nearly  all  the  water  I  need. 

The  mineral  crust  that  develops  in  the  photo  trays  attests  to  the  fact  that  the 
minerals  have  been  left  behind.  This  crust,  incidentally,  should  be  cleaned  out 
periodically. 

I  used  10-gallon,  "bargain"  aquaria  10-1/2"  wide,  12-1/2"  deep,  and  20"  long. 

The  photo  trays  are  standard  8"  x  10"  black  plastic  and  are  available  at  photo 
stores.  Be  sure  to  use  black  trays  as  they  will  get  the  water  hottest.  The 
tray  is  placed  about  1/4"  away  from  the  walls  of  the  aquarium  in  order  to  let 
the  condensed  water  fall  to  the  bottom. 

Efficiency  of  the  solar  water  distiller  will  depend  upon  the  time  of  the  year  and 
the  amount  of  sunlight  it  receives.  I  will  be  happy  to  receive  any  comments 
or  questions  about  the  solar  distiller. 

(Received  for  publication  July  20,  1977) 


CPN--WHERE  WE  CAME  FROM  AND  WHERE  WE  HOPE  TO  GO 
by  Joe  Mazrimas  and  Don  Schnell 

Many  newer  subscribers  have  wondered  and  asked  what  CPN  is  and  how  it  came  about, 
so  we  thought  it  worthwhile  recounting  CPN's  history  briefly  along  with  a  few 
ideas  on  the  present  and  future.  You  old-timers  just  reminisce  along  awhile. 

Back  in  1970,  the  two  of  us  were  independently  studying  and  growing  carnivorous 
plants  when  we  were  introduced  into  correspondence  by  a  mutual  friend — to  this 
day  we  have  never  laid  eyes  on  each  other.  We  both  carried  on  a  wide-ranging 
correspondence  with  others,  often  the  same  people,  and,  of  course,  these  letters 
were  often  packed  with  an  interchange  of  useful  bits  or  masses  of  information 
regarding  the  cultivation  of  CP,  their  response  in  culture,  transplanting  and, 
of  course,  much  on  natural  history.  Our  letters  and  interests  knew  no  national 
boundaries  and  often  each  of  us  handled  dozens  of  letters  each  week,  many  of 
these  covering  similar  ground. 

In  August  of  1971,  we  began  asking  each  other,  why  not  some  other  system  of 
exchange  to  avoid  repetitions  and  reach  correspondents  better,  something  more 
efficient  than  a  round-robin,  perhaps  a  sort  of  small  newsletter?  We  took  our 
cue  from  some  zoologists  (well,  they're  not  too  far  from  CP)  and  their  Bat- 
Research  News,  a  mimeographed  quarterly  of  6-8  pages,  $1.00  annually,  and  fea¬ 
turing  news,  short  notes  and  current  literature  reviews. 

Next,  we  needed  a  name,  a  bannerhead  to  distinguish  this  little  newsletter  to 
be  dashed  off  quarterly.  AMPHORA,  which  means  "pitcher,"  was  one  suggestion, 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


CPN 


71 


but  seemed  a  bit  esoteric  and  less  likely  to  identify  in  the  potential  reader's 
mind  as  the  final  selection,1  Carnivorous  Plant  Newsletter ,  which  also  lent  itself 
conveniently  to  the  now  rather  famous  "CPN." 

It  is  now  January,  1972,  and  if  this  thing  was  going  to  get  off  the  ground  some 
work  was  needed.  We  devised  a  rather  nondescript  one  page  mimeo  introductory 
letter  which  we  sent  out  to  all  our  mutual  correspondents  as  well  as  major  uni¬ 
versities  and  botanical  gardens  throughout  the  world,  300  of  these  having  been 
sent  by  February  since  we  wanted  the  first  quarterly  issue  to  appear  in  April, 
1972.  In  that  initial  letter  the  well-known,  and  we  hope  sustained,  principles 
of  CPN  were  stated,  "and  English  speaking  communication  among  people  with  our 
common  interest  in  these  fascinating  plants,"  and  the  amazingly  low  subscription 
rate  of  $1.00  was  to  cover  costs  with  no  profit.  Since,  of  course,  those  costs 
have  risen  along  with  the  cost  of  everything  else. 

We  waited  with  great  anticipation  the  flood  of  mail  in  response  to  our  letter. 
There  seemed  to  be  hundreds  of  things  to  do  and  coordinate  for  the  big  day. 

Joe  agreed  to  handle  the  dreary  chores  of  subscriptions,  literature  review  and 
mailing.  Don  arranged  the  final  copy,  cajoled  his  secretary  to  be  typist  for 
five  years,  and  saw  to  the  printing.  We  had  decided  the  8-1/2  x  11  format 
would  be  best  in  the  beginning  since  it  was  convenient  for  binder  storage  and 
there  was  sufficient  space  for  pictures  and  text.  Dr.  Ritchie  Bell  of  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  Chapel  Hill,  graciously  helped  with  the  printing 
which  was  done  with  a  new  rapid  photo-offset  now  in  rather  common  use  by  rapid 
printing  establishments  throughout  the  country.  The  equipment  could  also  pro¬ 
duce  black  and  white  pictures  for  us.  Meanwhile,  Katsu  Rondo,  who  was  a 
graduate  student  at  UNC  at  that  time  donated  his  considerable  artistic  talent 
and  came  up  with  our  bannerhead,  still  used  to  this  day.  We  received  about 
25  years'  worth  of  the  bannerhead  blanks  for  front  pages,  so  someone  had  faith 
in  us  I 

Subscriptions  only  dribbled  in  so  that  by  mid-March  of  1972  we  had  less  than 
two  dozen!  We  did  not  worry  too  much  about  this  but  plunged  ahead  to  get  the 
first  issue  out  by  April.  We  hoped  that  the  subscriptions  would  increase  as 
word  spread  during  the  year  so  that  towards  the  end,  we  might  be  able  to  sell 
out  and  recoup  costs  from  an  inventory  of  100  issues.  Everything  was  rolling 
now.  Copy  was  set  up  and  typed  to  masters,  then  sent  over  to  UNC  for  printing. 

In  April,  the  first  slightly  fuzzy  (old  typewriter)  15-page  copy  rolled  off 
the  press,  and  this  seemed  to  solidify  our  thoughts  and  aims  and  did  away  with 
doubts  that  the  massive  project  could  be  accomplished.  We  had  initially 
envisioned  a  4-6  page  newsletter,  but  the  need  for  communication  immediately 
sent  us  into  the  15-20  page  issue,  and  later  we  were  able  to  add  1/3  more  words 
per  mailing  weight  of  20  pages  by  a  print  size  reduction  method.  Pictures  were 
also  improved  by  at  first  using  separate  plates  for  the  covers  and  special  pic¬ 
ture  pages  (when  we  could  afford  it) ,  then  the  rapid  photo  offset  process  also 
improved  so  we  could  get  away  from  plates. 

This  first  issue  was  sent  to  the  meager  subscriber  list,  which  did  leap  ahead 
at  one  crucial  point  when  our  Japanese  friends  who  had  had  a  newsletter  of 
their  own  for  many  years  joined  us  with  a  mass  of  subscriptions  from  their 
organization.  We  exchanged  letters  of  excitement  when  one  after  another  CP 
expert  subscribed,  complimented  or  made  positive  suggestions  for  the  newsletter. 
We  were  pleased  with  letters  indicating  how  happy  those  with  an  amateur  interest 
in  CP  were  with  some  means  of  communicating,  sharing,  and  acquiring  knowledge. 
People  with  CP  interests  who  lived  in  the  same  city,  sometimes  blocks  from  each 
other  but  never  knowing  there  was  someone  nearby  with  similar  intersts,  were 
thus  able  to  meet. 

Growth  then  came  at  an  unpredictable  rate,  from  all  over  the  world,  as  word 
spread  through  personal  communications  and  those  authors  kind  enough  to  mention 
us  in  their  articles  and  books.  Reprints  were  needed.  Off-prints  of  special 
articles  in  CPN  were  printed.  Special  projects  such  as  the  World  List  were 
started,  and  volunteers  Bob  Ziemer  and  Lynn  Macey  conceived  the  seed  and  plant 
exchange  and  an  information  service.  The  number  of  subscribers  passed  600  in 
July,  1976,  and  the  work  of  keeping  records,  typing,  printing  and  mailing 
became  so  much  that  Leo  Song  kindly  arranged  to  have  all  this  taken  over  by 
Pat  Hansen  at  The  Arboretum  at  California  State  University,  Fullerton,  so  we 
could  concentrate  on  editing  and  solidifying  long  range  plans  and  conceptions. 

To  this  end,  Leo  and  Larry  Mellichamp  (a  professional  botanist  at  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  Charlotte)  also  became  co-editors  to  help  us  bring  you  a 
better,  more  useful  newsletter  with  even  more  services.  All  this  in  five  years. 

So  ends  the  beginning.  What  about  the  present?  What  plans  for  the  future? 

More  to  come .... 


72 


CPN 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


orner 


WATER  AND  THE  GROWING  MEDIUM  by  Joe  Mazrimas 

One  of  the  most  overlooked  factors  that  is  indispensible  to  healthy  growth  of 
carnivorous  plants  is  the  quality  of  the  water.  Taking  nature's  course,  one  of 
the  best  sources  of  water  is  rainwater  simply  because  it  contains  a  low  concen¬ 
tration  of  salt.  If  rainwater  is  not  available,  then  a  good  substitute  is  either 
distilled  or  deionized  water.  These  substitutes  can  be  purchased  but  over  a  long 
period  of  time  they  can  become  very  expensive  especially  if  you  need  large  quan¬ 
tities  . 

Carnivorous  plants  grow  best  when  the  salt  content  of  your  water  does  not  exceed 
150  ppm  in  total  salt  content.  You  can  inquire  from  your  local  water  company 
office  on  the  hardness  of  your  water.  One  must  use  water  with  low  salt  concen¬ 
tration  in  order  to  minimize  the  damage  that  occurs  to  the  soil  medium.  Most  CP 
grow  in  acidic  soils  or  soil  that  contains  a  high  concentration  of  peat  or  sphag¬ 
num  moss.  These  acidic  substances  can  act  like  ion  exchangers  by  substituting 
hydrogen  ions  from  the  plant  for  cations  that  are  in  the  water.  The  most  common 
cations  are  sodium,  magnesium,  potassium  and  calcium  with  smaller  concentrations 
of  metal  ions  such  as  mercury,  lead  and  iron.  When  these  cations  bind  to  the 
moss  (either  dead  or  alive) ,  the  moss  in  turn  releases  hydrogen  ions  which,  of 
course,  is  responsible  for  the  production  of  acidity  needed  by  the  plants.  If 
the  water  contains  a  very  high  concentration  of  salts,  then  the  exchange  capacity 
of  the  moss  is  exceeded  rather  quickly  (the  moss  can't  grow  fast  enough)  and  you 
have  a  rapid  salt  buildup  changing  the  growing  medium  from  acidic  to  alkaline. 

It  is  this  high  salt  buildup  and  alkaline  medium  which  spells  doom  for  your  plants. 

If  you  choose  to  grow  your  plants  in  a  closed  system  such  as  a  terrarium,  then  I 
would  recommend  using  distilled  water  since  only  small  amounts  are  needed  to  re¬ 
place  that  which  evaporates.  Most  of  it  gets  recycled.  In  open  systems,  evapora¬ 
tion  will  be  considerable  and  cost  of  distilled  water  becomes  prohibitive  and  so 
some  other  substitute  must  be  found. 

One  system  that  is  simple  to  use  is  to  make  your  own  water  with  a  process  called 
reverse  osmosis.  A  previous  article  in  CPN  described  its  function,  and  so  I  won't 
go  into  detail  here  (CPN  IV: 43,  1975)  .  Usually,  such  systems  can  give  you  water 
that  is  about  10  times  lower  in  salt  content  than  your  tap  water,  and  it  uses  no 
other  energy  source  than  the  water  pressure  from  your  tap.  A  unit  that  will  give 
you  a  minimum  of  five  gallons  a  day  of  low  salt  water  can  be  rented  for  less  than 
$10/month.  A  home  unit  is  available  from  the  Culligan  Water  Co.  called  the  H-5 
model.  The  artificial  membranes  which  filter  the  water  will  last  a  year  or  more 
depending  on  use. 

For  CP  to  thrive  over  a  long  period  of  time,  they  require  an  acidic  soil  with 
good  drainage  but  still  capable  of  holding  moisture.  I  find  that  a  good  soil 
mixture  consisting  of  Canadian  sphagnum  peat  moss  and  perlite  makes  a  light  and 
ubiquitous  medium  for  almost  any  situation  that  confronts  CPs.  This  peat  moss 
is  good  because  of  its  homogeneous  consistency  which  lends  itself  to  starting 
seeds  of  any  size  from  Utrioularia  to  that  of  Drosophy  Hum .  I  add  either  perlite 
or  sand  in  various  amounts  up  to  50%  by  volume  to  aid  in  keeping  the  roots  well 
oxygenated  and  to  allow  for  good  drainage.  By  adding  sand  or  perlite,  there  is 
less  tendency  for  the  surface  to  form  a  hard  crust  which  later  becomes  impervious 
to  water  and  discourages  the  formation  of  surface  algae. 

For  those  growers  who  prefer  to  use  living  sphagnum  moss,  it  is  important  to 
remember  that  this  moss  doesn't  like  to  be  packed  tightly  but  instead  prefers  a 
loose  but  firm  structure  in  order  to  sustain  growth.  Perlite  can  be  used  to 
increase  the  volume  of  chopped  sphagnum  moss  which  keeps  the  moss  healthy  and 
contributes  to  good  drainage.  One  can  use  up  to  50%  by  volume  of  perlite  mixture 
for  most  of  your  CP  needs. 

In  conclusion  of  this  series  of  articles,  I  want  to  say  that  carnivorous  plants 
are  normally  slow  growers  in  comparison  to  other  plants  such  as  crop  or  house 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


CPN 


73 


plants.  This  means  that  for  the  effort  expended,  one  must  exercise  extreme 
patience  in  growing  your  plants.  Never  try  to  hurry  them  up  into  fast  growth 
since  that  would  only  result  in  abnormal  growth  or  form.  Some  species  only  put 
out  a  few  leaves  (pitchers)  a  year,  but  that  is  probably  normal  under  the  circum¬ 
stances  and  not  to  worry  about  this.  All  we  ask  is  that  you  grow  your  favorite 
CP  the  best  way  you  know  how,  and  that's  where  all  the  fun  of  growing  these  plants 
begins ! 

NEXT:  A  series  on  PROPAGATION 


BOTANIST'S  CORNER 


Flowers,  Sex,  and  Hybridization 

in  Carnivorous  Plants  (aont.) 


HYBRIDIZATION 


I  should  make  a  final  comment  regarding  hybridi¬ 
zation.  This  is  usually  considered  to  occur 
when  you  successfully  cross  two  different  species, 
The  more  closely  related  genetically  two  species 
M  l/jfo I  are,  the  better  the  chance  of  hybridizing  them, 

e  wpJJ  It  rarely  occurs  in  nature  because  of  the  differ- 

1  /  ences  between  habitats,  pollinators,  and  flower- 

1  \  1  ing  dates.  It  is  much  more  likely  to  occur  in 

i  \  cultivation  where  the  grower  can  control  all 

c  1  /  environmental  factors ,  in  addition  to  the  actual 

h  /  pollen  transfer.  Some  species  will  hybridize 

a  readily,  others  will  not.  Sarracenia  are  a 

m  1  classic  example  of  species  which  are  all  capable 

p  [y  of  hybridization  with  one  another,  and  the  hy¬ 

brids  can  then  in  turn  be  used  in  further  hybrid¬ 
izations  to  produce  some  spectacular  results. 
Other  species,  such  as  in  Pinguicula ,  are  more  difficult  or  impossible  to  hybridize 
because  the  species  are  just  too  different  genetically. 


Any  attempts  at  hybridization  in  cultivation  could  be  important  and  produce  novel 
plants,  as  well  as  indicate  something  about  the  genetic  relationships  of  the  plants 
involved.  It  is  worth  the  practice  to  become  proficient  at  crossing  (both  within 
and  between  species)  to  produce  seed  for  exchange  and  preservation,  and  for  orna¬ 
mental  purposes.  Whenever  you  make  artificial  crosses  at  home,  keep  good  records 
indicating  what  the  species  are,  which  is  the  female  parent  (received  the  pollen) , 
and  what  the  success  of  seed  production  is.  Any  seeds  of  pure  species  made  avail¬ 
able  for  exchange  should  indicate  whether  they  are  from  cross  or  self-pollinated 
individuals.  (If  cross-pollinated,  make  sure  both  individuals  are  good,  pure, 
typical  specimens  for  that  species.) 


Problems  encountered  with  artificial  crossing  can  usually  be  attributed  to  poor 
timing  (old  pollen  or  unreceptive  stigmas) ;  actually  not  getting  pollen  on  the 
stigma;  plant  in  such  poor  health  that  it  cannot  produce  a  seed  crop  (unlikely, 
if  the  plant  produces  flowers  in  the  first  place) ;  the  crossing  of  incompatible 
plants  (either  flowers  on  the  same  plant,  or  plants  of  the  same  genetic  clone) ;  or 
the  two  species  involved  just  will  not  hybridize  (you  can  never  be  sure  of  this 
until  you've  tried  many  times) .  If  you  are  doing  critical  hybridization  work, 
whenever  you  cross  two  plants  it  is  best  to  put  bags  made  of  silk  stockings  (or 
similar  lightweight  material)  around  the  pollen-receiving  flowers  to  keep  insects 
from  bringing  additional  unknown  pollen  to  that  flower. 

For  additional  practial  discussion  of  hybridization  in  CP,  see  appropriate  portions 
of  D.E.  Schnell's  Carnivorous  Plants  of  the  U.S.  &  Canada  and  Pietropaolo ' s  The 
World  of  Carnivorous  Plants  (see  CPN  VI (1)  for  publishers) .  A  good  introductory 
botany  textbook  would  provide  further  information  on  flower  structure  and  terminology. 

NOTE:  I  would  be  pleased  to  receive  comments  from  readers  regarding  the  contents 

of  this  column.  I  hope  I  am  presenting  information  that  is  useful  and  interesting 
in  a  manner  that  is  understandable.  Although  I  have  ideas  for  future  articles, 

I  would  rather  have  ideas  from  you,  the  Reader,  as  to  what  you  would  be  most 
interested  in  knowing  more  about.  How  about:  a  list  of  the  pronunciation  of  CP 
names;  the  meanings  of  the  scientific  names  of  CP;  the  history  of  the  discovery, 
naming,  and  early  horticulture  of  CP.  Send  your  comments  and  suggestions  on  a 
postcard  or  in  a  letter;  none  of  your  questions  or  suggestions  will  be  considered 
inappropriate.  DO  IT  TODAY!  (T.L.  Mellichamp,  Biology  Dept.,  UNCC,  Charlotte, 

NC  28223) . 


74 


CPN 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


LITERATURE  REVIEW 

Barber,  John.  Mucilaginous  seeds:  Interactions  with  microorganisms.  Abstract 
in  Plant  Physiology  59,  No.  6,  June  1977. 

The  author  demonstrated  that  mucilaginous  pellicles  (coverings)  surrounding 
certain  seeds  possess  protease  (protein  decomposing)  activity  which  are 
capable  of  attracting,  entrapping  and  killing  mosquito  larvae  in  the  labora¬ 
tory.  He  presumes  that  the  prey  is  digested  and  products  of  digestion  are 
taken  up  by  the  seed.  In  the  nautral  environment,  the  seeds  may  actually 
attract  and  digest  nematodes,  protozoans  and  motile  bacteria. 

Cooper,  J.  &  Williams,  S.  Decay  of  the  activated  state  induced  by  stimulation 
of  the  trigger  hairs  of  Dionaea.  Abstract  in  Plant  Physiology  59,  No.  6, 
June  1977. 

Debuhr,  L.E.  Sectional  reclassification  of  Drosera  subgenus  Ergaleium  ( Drosera- 
ceae) .  Aust.  J.  Bot.  25  (  2)  : 209-218  .  1977. 

The  new  species  of  Australian  Drosera,  D.  fimbriata ,  was  placed  into  a  new 
Drosera  section  Stolonif era . 

Lichtner,  F.T.  &  Spanswick,  R.M.  Ion  relations  in  Dionaea.  Abstract  in  Plant 
Physiology  59,  No.  6,  June  1977. 

These  authors  show  that  changes  in  ion  concentration  in  the  inner  wall  of 
the  trap  take  place  before  and  after  stimulation.  The  monitored  ions  were 
K+,  Na+,  aCl" . 

Marton,  L.  Early  application  of  electron  microscopy  to  biology.  Ultramicroscopy 
1  (4)  :  281-296 ,  1976. 

Did  you  know  that  the  very  first  biological  electron  micrograph  made  was  that 
of  a  thick  section  of  Drosera  intermedia  strained  with  OSO4  in  1934? 

Schnell,  D.E.  1977.  Pitcher  plants.  Plants  Alive  5:24-25. 

A  popular  article  on  sarracenias.  Six  black  and  white  photos  accompany  a 
brief  discussion  of  natural  history  and  conservation  problems. 

Stauffer,  R.E.  Insectivorous  Plants.  Swamp  News  XX(3):l-7,  September  1977. 
General  review  article  on  insectivorous  plants  illustrated  by  five  black 
and  white  photos. 

Tinaglia,  S.  Drosera  binata.  House  Plants  and  Porch  Gardens,  Dec.  1977,  pp. 
17-21. 

A  description  of  the  Drosera  species  with  three  color  photos  are  given. 

Williams,  Stephen  E.  The  response  of  Dionaea  traps  to  raindrops.  Abstract  in 
Plant  Physiology  59,  No.  6,  June  1977. 

Plants  of  Dionaea  were  observed  both  in  clear  weather  and  during  heavy  rain. 
The  closure  rate  for  the  traps  during  the  night  with  no  rain  was  0.16 
closures/leaf/week  with  40%  containing  insects.  The  same  population  of 
traps  had  a  closure  rate  of  0.24  during  the  rainy  night  but  had  zero  cap¬ 
tures.  Therefore,  closure  rate  was  50%  higher  when  it  rained  while  the 
capture  rate  was  100%  lower. 


ft 


Nepenthes  ampullaria  ground  pitchers. 

Bark  chips  are  about  1.5  cm  at  most. 
Plant  was  sent  as  a  seedling/rooted 
cutting  to  California  State  Univer¬ 
sity,  Fullerton,  by  P.A.  Morrow. 

Photo  by  Leo  Song. 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


CPN 


75 


SEED  BANK 


Complete  List  of  Seed  Bank 
November  1,  1977 

PATRICK  DWYER  (49  Killean  Park,  Albany,  NY  12205)  writes:  I  would  like  to  tell 
everyone  that  there  has  been  an  amazing  response  (over  200  packets  in  the  first 
five  days!) .  Unfortunately  we  quickly  ran  out  of  many  kinds.  We  need  donations 
of  all  species,  especially  the  rarer  ones.  A  list  of  contributors  to  the  Seed 
Bank  will  be  published  in  the  next  update. 

Byblis  gigantea  (5)*,  B.  liniflora 
Cephalotus  follicularis  (4) 

Darlingtonia  calif ornica 
Dionaea  mus  aipula 

Drosera  aliciae  (2),  D.  arcturi  (1),  D .  burkeana  (1),  D.  burmannii,  D.  x  califor- 
nica  (10),  D .  capillaris,  D.  capillaris  (long  leaf)  (1),  D.  capillaris  (long 
leaf)  -  D.  capensis  (narrow)  mix  (5),  D.  capensis,  D.  capensis  (narrow  leaf), 

D.  filiformis  filiformis ,  D.  gigantea  (13),  D.  intermedia ,  D.  macrophylla  (14), 
D.  menziesii  (4),  D.  montana  (7),  D.  pulchella,  D.  pygmaea  (3),  D.  rotundi- 
folia ,  D.  spathulata  (4),  D.  stonolifera ,  D.  sulphurea  (3) 

Nepenthes  khasiana,  N.  mirabilis 

Pinguicula  alpicola  (probably  P.  vulgaris)  (1),  P.  grandiflora  ssp.  rosea  (4), 

P.  ionantha  (1),  P.  leptoceras  (1),  P.  macroceras  (4),  P.  planifolia  (2) 
Polypompholyx  multi fida  (8) 

Sarracenia  alata,  S.  alata  (x-ray,  100  rads),  S.  alata  (x-ray,  550  rads)  (12), 

S.  flava,  S.  flava  (copper  lid)  (10),  S.  flava  (red  veined)  (8),  S.  leuco- 
phylla,  S.  leucophylla  (x-ray,  100  rads)  (5),  S.  leucophylla  (x-ray,  1000 
rads)  (4),  S.  minor ,  S.  oreophylla  (10),  S.  psittacina  (2),  S.  purpurea 
purpurea,  S.  purpurea  riplicola,  S.  purpurea  venosa  (1),  S.  purpurea  venosa 
(x-ray,  100  rads)  (6),  S.  purpurea  venosa  (x-ray,  550  rads)  (3),  S.  purpurea 
(pink  flower)  (3),  S.  purpurea  (white  flower)  (2),  S.  rubra  (4),  S.  rubra 
"Gulf"  (5),  S.  rubra  jonesii,  S.  alata  x  leuco.,  S.  alata  x  leuco.?  (14), 

S.  x  catesbaei,  S.  x  chelsoni  (5),  S.  flava  x  leuco.  (1),  S.  x  harperi  (15) 

S.  leuco.  x  minor?  (2),  S.  leuco.  x  rubra?  (13),  S.  x  mitchelliana  (10), 

S.  purp .  x  minor  (3),  S.  rubra  x  leuco.  (8),  S.  rubra  x  oreo .  (2), 

Utricularia  longi folia,  U.  montana  (10) 

*Number  of  packets  is  listed  if  there  are  fewer  than  15. 


Is  it  OK  to  feed  a  Utricularia  plant  live 
brine  shrimp?  What's  the  best  thing  to  feed 
Nepenthes  plants?  L.H.,  Berea,  Ohio. 

It's  all  right  to  feed  brine  shrimp  to  Utri¬ 
cularia  provided  you  wash  the  shrimp  in  fresh 
water  before  you  add  it  to  the  culture. 
Nepenthes  can  be  fertilized  on  the  roots  with 
a  mild  fertilizer  such  as  fish  emulsion  5-2-2 
J. A.M. 


Q.  The  traps  of  my  Sarracenia  flava  and  my  S.  psittacina  are  being  destroyed 
by  some  kind  of  bugs.  What  should  I  do?  D.H.,  Greensburg,  PA. 

A.  The  trouble  you  describe  sounds  like  the  pitcher  plant  moth,  Exyra  riding sii , 
which  infests  principally  S.  flava,  and/or  Exyra  semicrocea,  which  is  found 
throughout  the  South,  according  to  CPN  3:35.  They  can  be  dispatched  by 
cutting  off  the  top  of  the  pitcher  and  killing  the  larvae  with  a  wire  or 
toothpick.  There  should  be  only  one  per  pitcher.  Examine  all  dead  pitchers 
for  pupae.  Damage  consists  of  the  inside  tissue  being  eaten,  leaving  the 
outer  epidermis  only.  A  web  of  silk  usually  covers  the  pitcher  mouth.  (The 
pitcher  moth  is  one  of  the  hazards  of  material  that  has  been  field  collected.) 
L.S. 


76 


CPN 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


A  larger  form  of  Nepenthes  alata  from 
the  vicinity  of  Quezon  City,  Luzon, 
Phillipine  Islands,  growing  in  a  hang¬ 
ing  pot  in  the  greenhouse  at  California 
State  University,  Fullerton.  Culture 
medium  is  medium  size  orchid  bark  chips. 
Pot  size  is  one  gallon.  Photo  by  Leo 
Song. 


A  portion  of  the  one  gallon  section  of 
Sarraoenia  in  the  lathhouse  at  California 
State  University,  Fullerton.  Species  as 
well  as  hybrids  are  evident  in  this  photo 
by  Leo  Song. 


Drosera  eunei folia  in  a  2-1/4"  pot 
Photo  by  Bob  Hanrahan 


Drosera  cuneifolia  flower,  side  view. 
Note  how  flat  the  flower  is,  probably 
to  present  maximum  surface  area  for 
landing  platform  for  pollinators. 
Photo  by  Bob  Hanrahan. 


77 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


CPN 


WANT  ADS 


When  submitting  Want  Ads,  please  be  sure  to 
print  clearly  for  best  results  and  to  elim¬ 
inate  mistakes.  Please  indicate  the  correct 
letter  before  each  item  (Want,  Trade,  £ell  or 
Buy) .  Want  ads  are  limited  to  carnivorous 
plants,  terraria,  greenhouses  and  moss. 

There  is  a  charge  of  ten  cents  per  item,  with 
no  limit  to  the  number  of  items  you  may  submit 
per  issue. 

Send  coin  or  check  along  with  your  want  ad  to: 

Arboretum,  Want  Ads 
California  State  University 
Fullerton,  CA  92634 


Ronald  Bell,  9534  Alta  Mira,  Dallas,  TX  75218.  (WB)  Sarracenia  psittacina ,  Drosera  peltata, 

S.  purpurea  var.  ripicola  (Boivin) 

Aric  Bendorf,  1121  North  Signal  St.,  Ojai,  CA  93023.  (WTB)  Live  sphagnum,  Drosera  brasiliensis , 

D.  cuneifolia,  D.  gigantea,  D.  neo-caledonica ,  D.  pallida,  D.  whittakeri,  Heliamphora, 

Nepenthes  merrilliana,  N.  burkeii,  N.  mirabilis,  D.  zonaria 

Jay  Brodie,  54  Butler  St.,  Cos  Cob,  CT  06807.  (t)  Drosera  montana  plants,  D.  filiformis  v.  traoyi 

plants 

Joseph  Cantasano,  2717  Jerusalem  Ave . ,  North  Bellmore,  NY  11710.  I  will  send  Nepenthes  khasiana 
"female"  cuttings  to  anyone  willing  to  pay  the  postage. 

Robert  Cantlay,  30672  Paseo  Del  Niguel,  Laguna  Niguel,  CA  92677.  (WB)  Nepenthes  alata,  Utrieularia 
maororhiza,  Pinguicula  plani folia 

Gordon  D.  Hanna,  168  Kilaben  Road,  Kilaben  Bay.  2283,  NSW  Australia.  (W)  Byblis  gigantea,  Drosera 
cicti folia.  (T)  Nepenthes  maxima 

Trevor  A.  Kuchel,  Box  110,  P.O.,  Murray  Bridge,  S.A.  5253,  Australia.  (WB)  Any  Nepenthes  (seeds  or 
source) ,  any  Heliamphora  (seeds  or  source)  ,  seeds  of  the  following:  Sarracenia  alata  albi flora, 
S.  alabamensis,  S.  flava  (red),  S.  flava  (green  swamp),  S.  flava  (short  savannah),  S.  flava 
(tall  Gulf  Coast),  S.  flava  (giant),  S.  leucophylla  var.  Alba  Reade,  S.  leucophylla  (red 
pitcher),  S.  minor  (giant),  S.  minor  (tall  Gulf  Coast),  S.  purpurea  var.  riplicola,  S.  purpurea 
venosa  (maroon  pitchers),  Sarracenia  psittacina  (giant),  S.  rubra  (longbeak),  S.  rubra  (tall 
Atlantic  Coast),  Sarracenia  complex  hybrid  'studs'  (seeds  or  plants),  Drosera  regia  (seeds) 

Scott  Henderson,  215  N.  Cuyamaca  St.,  El  Cajon,  CA  92020.  (WB)  Heliamphora,  Sarracenia  leucophylla 
x  S.  psittacina,  S.  oreophila  (seed  or  plants) ,  Byblis  gigantea.  Nepenthes  bicalcarata,  N. 
ampullaria,  N.  maxima,  Pinguicula  planifolia,  Drosera  zonaria,  D.  gigantea  (tuber  or  seed) . 

(w)  S.  minor,  S.  psittacina.  (T)  S.  purpurea  purpurea,  Byblis  liniflora ,  Utrieularia  longi- 
folia,  U.  prehensilis,  P.  caerulea,  D.  capensis  (narrow  leaf),  D.  x  nagamoto,  D.  intermedia  x 
filiformis,  D.  brevifolia,  S.  rubra. 

Alan  Schueler,  16345  Martincoit,  Poway,  CA  92064.  (WB)  Drosophyllum  plants  or  seed,  Drosera 

schizandra  plant  or  seed,  Drosera  linearis  plant  or  seed,  any  Sarracenia  plants,  any  Pinguicula 
plants,  Cephalotus  follicularis ,  rooted  Nepenthes  or  cuttings,  Byblis  gigantea,  D.  binata, 

D.  spathulata 


Cephalotus  follicularis 

Mature  pitchers 


Photo  by  Bob  Hanrahan 


78 


CPN 


Volume  VI,  No.  4 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  VI 


GENERA  INDEX 


Aldrovanda .  .  .  .  , 

..  .22,63 

Nepenthes . 

.  .  .  5,6,7,13,25,28,30,31, 

Bijb  Us . . 

.  .  .5,6,18,28,29,50,63,69 

32,34,39,45,46,47,48, 

Capse  lla . . 

.  .  .  3 

49,50,56,58,62,63,64 

Cephalotus .  .  .  . , 

..  .20,25,28,34,46,47,54  , 

65,69, 74,75,76 

55,57,77 

Pinguiaula .... 

.  ..  5,7,12,25,26,27,32,33, 

Chry samphora . . . 

.  .  .  42 

34,35,36,45,46,47,58, 

Davlingtonia . . . 

...3,19,29,32,33,34,42, 

59,61,64,65,69,73 

45,46,47,56,58,64,65, 

Po  lypompholyx . 

..  .17,59 

69 

Roridula . 

..  .18,45,63 

Dionaea . 

.  . .3,4,6,12,13,14,15,16, 

Sarraaenia .... 

.  .  .5,6,7,8,12,17,18,19, 

17,18,23,26,27,29,30, 

26,27,31,32,33,34,35, 

34,35,45,46,47,59,63, 

36,37,39,40,41,45,46, 

64,65,74 

47,48,56,58,59,63,64, 

Drosera . 

.  .  .1,3,5,7,8,9,10,11,12, 

65,67,68,69,73,75,76 

13,16,18,19,20,25,26, 

Utvicularia . . . 

.  .  .  7,8,12,16,17,19,20,25, 

27,28,30,31,32,33,34, 

31,32,33,34,35,36,45, 

35,36,37,38,43,45,46, 

47,48,50,51,54,58,59, 

47,50,51,52,53,54,55, 

56,59,63,64,65,66,68, 

69,74,76 

63,64,65,69,72,75 

Drosophy  Hum  .  .  , 

...9,45,72 

He liamphora . . . , 

...34,46 

Lentibularia . . . 

.  .  .  30 

SHORT  NOTES 

TITLE  INDEX 

Building  Your  Own  Solar  Water  Distiller .  69 

Carnivorous  Plant  Companies . > .  68 

Conservation  and  Carnivorous  Plants .  38 

CPN--Where  We  Came  from  and  Where  We  Hope  to  Go .  70 

Droseras  of  the  New  Forest .  37 

Frost  Protection  for  Dormant  CP .  8 

General  Cultural  Instructions  for  Growing  Tuberous  Droseras .  66 

Notes  on  a  Trip  to  North  Carolina .  12 

Notes  on  Nepenthes  mirabilis  and  Other  CP  in  Queensland .  49 

Notes  on  Tuberous  Drosera  of  Western  Australia .  51 

Of  Barn  Swallows  and  Droseras .  68 

On  the  Foraging  Strategies  of  Carnivorous  Plants .  14 

Possible  Alternative  Food  for  Carnivorous  Plants .  9 

Propagation  of  Nepenthes  by  Layering .  13 

Sarraaenia--'Touv  Deluxe .  35 

Seeking  the  Pygmy  Droseras .  10 

Unseasonal  Blooming  in  Savraoenia  in  Western  Florida .  67 


AUTHOR  INDEX 


Adams,  R . 

.63 

Honda,  M . 

.  .5,32 

Prager,  P . 

...  65 

Barnett,  W . 

.45 

Hunt,  M . 

..5,31 

Pummer ,  T . 

...  65 

Brokenbro ,  T .  ... 

.6,8, 

Kaufman,  L . 

.  .3,12, 

Richardson,  S. 

...  69 

13,46 

14 

Rose,  S . 

.  .  .5,10, 

Brodie,  J . 

.63 

Korolas,  J . 

..  33,47 

11,28,51,66 

Burden,  D . 

.30 

Kutt,  D . 

.  .35 

Ross,  L . 

.  .  .38,67 

Cantasano ,  J .  ... 

.63 

Lavarack ,  P .  . . . 

.  .49 

Schnell ,  D .  . . . 

.  .  .6,32, 

Cook,  B . 

.46 

Kavrich,  J . 

.  .47 

47,48,56,70 

Claudi-Magnussen , 

G. 

Lewis,  P . 

.  .  33 

Schwarzbeck,  M. 

.  .  14 

32 ,68 

Lutz,  R . 

.  .  4 

Sheridan ,  P .  . . 

...  34, 48 

Del  Col,  J . 

.  9 

Macey,  L . 

..7,64 

Sikoryak ,  K .  . . 

...  65 

Dwyer,  P . 

.45,75 

Mazr imas ,  J .  . . . 

.  .1,3, 

Song,  L . 

.  .  .2,74,75,76 

Frowine,  S . 

.23,44, 

6,27,47,64,70, 

72,75 

Tallman ,  0 .  . . . 

. .  .49,63, 

61 

McCulluh,  L.  . . . 

.  .  47 

68 

Graber,  D . 

.  27 

McLaughlin,  P.  . 

.  .64 

Taylor,  D . 

..  .27,37 

Griesbach ,  R.  . . . 

.47 

Mellichamp,  L.  . 

. .17,25, 

Taylor,  P . 

...  34 

Hanna,  B . 

.27,30,63 

33,41,57,65,73 

Thomas ,  P . 

...29,32 

Hanrahan,  B . 

.63,76 

Muller,  R . 

.  .  5 

Turnbull ,  J.  . . 

.  .  .65 

77 

Nelson,  B . 

.  .47 

Wallace ,  B .  . . . 

.  .  .28 

Haynes,  R . 

.  6 

Netherby ,  B .  ... 

.  .28 

Williams ,  S .  . . 

...  3 

Henderson ,  S .  .  .  . 

.  64 

Palmer,  E . 

.  .65 

Ziemer,  B . 

Hendrix,  B . 

.  34